Focusing on the sentiment

Week 10 already of the Less is More Challenge, and this time they would like to see one layer cards with the focus on the sentiment. Having just taken delivery of the brand new Teeny Weeny Meadow stamp set from Chocolate Baroque, I couldn't wait to start inking it up and soon found a suitable sentiment to go with a tree from the set.

The sentiment is from the Tall Trees set by Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque). One of the tall trees in the set has a mini counterpart in the Teeny Weeny Meadow set, and I thought I'd make another version of the card using that one. I can't decide which one I like best! Good challenge this week. I might be tempted to have another go at the theme.

It's been a great weekend. Yesterday Sally, her daughter Megan and I went to Sir Stampalot for another fantastic Blog Girl get-together. It was a brilliant day. I'll be back later to tell you all about it!

All Creatures Great and Small

That's the title of the Sir Stampalot February'11 Challenge. Of course, for me that had to mean butterflies. I have very few other animal stamps. Here I've used the huge Elusive Images butterfly, on an 8" x 8" card. The background is sprayed with Glimmer Mists (after masking a circle for the sun) and then stamped with Hero Arts grasses and some tiny butterflies from Crafty Individuals. The text stamp is by Katzelcraft.

To colour the big butterfly, I laid the uninked, unmounted stamp on the paper and drew a faint pencil line around its outline, and filled it in by sponging with various pigment inks. Then I stamped the butterfly on top with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Had I stamped first and then coloured, the black would have been subdued. I could have stamped first and embossed with clear powder to protect the black before colouring, but I think it would have been more difficult then to get a smooth blending of colours. I was pleased with the result, anyway. Hope you like it too!

Origami Christmas Tree

Yesterday Jules posted a brilliant tutorial on how to make an origami Christmas tree, which had been taught to her by a lady called Jo Unwin (for whom unfortunately I don't have a link.) I couldn't wait to try it, and here's the card I made with it.

I used one of the big (8" x8") square cards from Craftwork Cards for the base and stamped it with an Elusive Images stamp from the Grungy Brocade set. The patterned papers, including the one I made the tree with, and the sentiment, are all from the Artylicious Season's Greetings CDrom from Graphicus. The three little snowflakes were punched with a freebie punch which came with the December 2010 issue of Papercraft Inspirations magazine. Now, one might suppose that magazine freebies are not usually of the best quality, until one realises that this punch is made by Tonic Studios, and it actually works really well, as you can see by the detail.

I was very pleased with how the tree turned out, thanks to Jules's clear instructions, so if you fancy having a go too, hop over to Jules's blog and try it out.

Feasting on Phonemes!

Or, to put it another way, eating my words! I said I wouldn't be making any Christmas cards before December. I hate the fact that Christmas is so commercialised these days, with stuff in the shops before we've even got the summer holidays over with. And starting the preparations too soon seems to be wishing time away. It goes fast enough as it is.

However, the ladies who come to my card class wanted to do some Christmas cards sooner rather than later, so I thought that since I had to make samples for them, I might as well carry on and get more done for myself  while I was at it. They asked for quick and easy, which was fine by me. I don't have much time to spend on making cards at this time of year. It's my busiest time at school, with all the Christmas concerts to prepare for. When we're back next week, after half term, we'll be starting rehearsals, with the first concert only five weeks away! Maybe next year I should start making the cards in January!

Anyway, here are some I've done so far. Plain and simple, and certainly quick and easy. I don't like doing "production line" cards, but needs must, and by using different papers I've managed to get a bit of variety. I bought the Holly Frame embossing folder by Crafts Too, which I embossed straight on to the card blank. It made adding texture very quick, and only needed a stamp in the centre to finish it off.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but I also used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on some of the cards.

Stamps by Crafty Individuals, Hero Arts, Elusive Images, PSX, Inkadinkado. Other items used: Nestabilities dies, Promarkers, Dovecraft papers, various inks.

I'm sorry I haven't been getting round everyone's blogs lately. My grandsons came to stay (with parents, though plenty of babysitting was involved!). We had a great time, even though I also had to go to work as unfortunately our half term didn't coincide with theirs this year. Then I went up to stay with them for a few days. The weather was mixed, but one day was absolutely gorgeous, so we went for a walk by the loch close to where they live, and got some photos.

And one other I can't resist sharing, my elder grandson puddle jumping! The joys of being 5! (The carrier bag was to collect fallen leaves in, with which he and his mum made a mobile.)

Anyway, I will try to catch up with the blogs soon. Hope everyone is having a good week.



Parks and Gardens

This week's challenge at Allsorts is called "Park Inspiration", and they want our entries to be inspired by gardens or parks. There's a £10 voucher to be won to spend at One Stop Card Crafts! Well, of course, parks and gardens say "nature" to me, and since that's my favourite theme it was no hardship to come up with a card to fit.

Having recently treated myself to the Katzelcraft "Nature & Travel Quotes" set by Isabelle Norris, this was the perfect opportunity to use some of them. The background was stamped with Versamark and clear embossed, to act as a resist, and I coloured over the stamping with various pigment inks. Then the embossing was removed by covering it with kitchen paper and ironing over it with a hot iron.

The sentiment is an Aspects of Design stamp from The Stampman. (Such a pity they had to spell "marvellous" the American way.) It's from a sheet called (IIRC) "Rambling", but I can't find it on their website now. I bought it at a low sale price some time ago, so I'm wondering whether it's now no longer available.

The butterfly, from the gorgeous "Patchwork Butterfly" sheet by Elusive Images, is coloured with Promarkers and has a touch of Diamond Glaze on the flowers and body, although it's hard to see that in the photo.

Lovely as a tree

The challenge on this week's Tuesday Taggers is to take our inspiration from a poem. Given that I love trees, I couldn't fail to be inspired by a poem about that very subject - "Trees" by Alfred Joyce Kilmer, an American journalist, lecturer and poet. "Trees" is probably his most well known poem.

I printed the poem on to a shaped cutout from the Artylicious Essence of Nature CD rom and composed my card around it. The base of the card is covered with matching paper from the CD. I stamped an Elusive Images tree on the top part and mounted the poem along with two tree images from the Crafty Individuals Miniatures book Nature's Beauty.

For the stopper, I cut a branch and leaves from Grungeboard and coloured them with Promarkers.

Here's the finished card. I really enjoyed making this one!

In Essence...

... I've just realised it's over three weeks since I last posted anything, and that's mainly because I haven't made anything to post during the last three weeks! I was very busy with school concerts and things leading up to the end of term, but also I've been sadly lacking in inspiration. I think my mojo broke up early and went on holiday without me!

However, it came back yesterday with the delivery of the much anticipated new Artylicious CD from Glenda at Graphicus. It's called Essence of Nature, and is simply stunning, full of the most gorgeous papers and elements in wonderful colours. Glenda's best yet, IMHO. I couldn't fail to be inspired by it, but  there's so much on it that the problem was in knowing what to try first!

I love the Elusive Images Eastern Grasses stamp set, and was very pleased to find a matching backing paper on the CD. It's beautifully subtle and makes a perfect background for the stamps. I used the main image from the set as a focal point (stamped on to paper coloured with VersaMagic inks), added some of the grasses along the bottom, and embellished it with a few butterflies from the Artylicious Butterfly Bliss CD. The sentiment is computer generated (not from the CD).

Inspired not only by Glenda's brilliant CD, but also by her posts such as this one about her decluttering, I decided that whilst I've got a decent amount of time off school I should try to emulate her! My craft stuff clearout is ongoing, but I hope to have time to get that finished and then maybe make a start on the rest of the house. (Note the word "maybe"!) So my blog will probably be a bit quiet again for a while (though I'm sure I'll be tempted to stop work now and then and make some more cards with the CD!), but I will do my best to look in on everyone else's blogs when I can. Hope you are all having a good summer.

Tuesday Taggers 9th March

I haven't had much time lately for blogging, or for crafting, come to that. Unfortunately, at the moment real life is having to take priority. However, I have managed (at the last minute!) to make something for this week's Tuesday Taggers, where the theme is St. Patrick's Day. Since I don't have anything specifically to do with St. Patrick, I'm hoping a general Irish theme will be okay.

I decided (inspired by Debbie Dolphin's host of wonderful examples) to make a round easel card, which I cut with my Nestabilities. I have just bought the Celtic knot die by Joy!crafts (available from Crafts U Love ) and it seemed to be perfect for this project, mounted on to some My Mind's Eye paper. The base of the card is stamped with the Hero Arts Delicate Vine Background. The "Good Luck" stamp is one of a set of stamps free with the current (April 2010) issue of Papercraft Inspirations Magazine. The Irish Blessing & butterfly are Elusive Images from Graphicus. I finished the card with some shamrocks made from punched hearts. (Edit: I now realise, of course, that shamrocks have three lobes to the leaf, so these had better be lucky 4-leaf clovers!)

It was a bit of a rushed job (I should just about make the deadline!) but I think it turned out okay in the end.

Backgrounds

I'm going to do some background techniques with my class tomorrow, including my favourite direct-to-paper with overstamping. I have some new class members who haven't done any card making before, so I've tried to make it fairly simple to begin with. This sample shows the first outing for my new Hero Arts Antique Brocade stamp, which I think is destined to become much loved. I stamped it over paper sponged with Versamagic inks. The girl and butterfly images are from Crafty Individuals' Miniatures Books "People & Places 2" and "Butterflies & Flowers" respectively. I used the huge butterfly from the Elusive Images "Patchwork Butterfly" plate as a background on the base card, and the sentiment is from the same plate.

Next week it's half term, so I'm going up to stay with my daughter & family in Dumfriesshire. Lots of playing and babysitting planned, so I'm not likely to get much time for challenges, or even blogging. There'll be room in the car to take one box of supplies with me in the hope of managing to make a few cards. The question is, what will I be able to conjure up from only one box of stash? Now there's a challenge, if ever there was one!

Sir Stampalot Special Challenge

Here is my entry for the Sir Stampalot Special Challenge, hosted by Brenda. The challenge is to celebrate Sir Stampalot's relocation to new premises, and so the theme is "Moving", which is open to interpretation.

My card has two "moving" elements. Firstly, the main flower picture has been moved from its original location by image transfer, and secondly, inside the card there is a pop-up.

For the image transfer I used one of my own photos. With my graphics programme I altered the colour and toned down the background, and then printed it out on to photo-quality inkjet paper to give a good clear print. I'd never tried image transfer before, so I followed the instuctions given in the February 2010 issue of Craft Stamper. I did the acrylic paint method, which was very easy and worked a treat. One might ask why I didn't just use the original photo! Well, I wanted to try image transfer, and also I wanted the softer look which the method provides. And, of course, it was a way of interpreting the theme. I was very pleased with the result.

The background was splattered with ink and stamped with a flourish by Crafty Individuals. A Hero Arts butterfly and word by Inkadinkado completed the front of the card. Inside I used the Hero Arts Dandelion frame, more Hero Arts butterflies, grasses by Elusive Images from Graphicus and a sentiment stamp which I've had so long I can't remember who it's by!

Allsorts Challenge Week 34

The Allsorts challenge for this week is a sketch, by Emma. Since I still had the Hero Arts flourish stamp out on my desk, I thought I'd use it on this card too. This time I stamped it on glossy card with Versamark ink, which then resisted the Distress Inks I sponged over it. The four printed paper panels are old stash (very old! - from Provocraft pre-Cuttlebug!) and the butterfly, which I thought echoed the leaves in the flourish rather well, is Elusive Images from Graphicus. The sentiment is computer generated and cut out with Nestabilities frames. I coloured the punched flowers and leaves with Promarkers.

Well, that's two challenges in two days I've completed! It's unlikely I'll be able to keep going at such a rate, but I mean to do as many as I can.

New challenges!

Another of my crafting aims for the new year is to start entering some challenges. I didn't really have the time to do so last year, but I'm making a start here with a card for Tuesday Taggers. The theme for this week is "Classic Black and White".

The flourish stamp is by Hero Arts, and the butterfly and sentiment are Elusive Images from Graphicus. I used two Martha Stewart punches, the Simple Scallop, and the gorgeous new Pop Up Butterflies. The bonus with the latter is that you get lots of little punched-out butterflies left over, so I stuck a few amongst the swirls, having coloured them black with a Promarker. The sentiment was cut out with a Nestabilities frame.

Working to a brief like this is a bit outside my comfort zone, but it will do me good! I did enjoy the challenge.

Altered photo frame, and a Light Tip!

My altered photo frame is finished! This is what it looked like originally. I gave the frame and base a couple of coats of gesso, and then sponged the base with Ranger Acrylic Dabbers. I picked up some of the paint on a fine paint brush and dotted it on to give the effect of flowers.Next I stamped the frame with various Elusive Images stamps from Graphicus, and dotted a few flowers on there too. The butterflies and toadstools (also Elusive Images) were made with shrink plastic & coloured with Promarkers. The photo frame, which is about 5" tall, came from Hobbycraft.

Now it looks like this!

The photo, by the way, is of the Black Water of Dee where it flows through part of the Galloway Forest Park, Dumfries and Galloway. That particular spot is known as the Otter Pool. We visited there a few years ago, and it's a most beautiful place. Do click on the picture to see the larger version.

During these dark and gloomy winter days, I've seen various people lamenting that they cannot get a good photo of their projects because of the lack of light. Here's a tip which might help. I use an energy saving high power (20w) daylight craft bulb in my desk lamp. It's made by the Daylight Company and is available directly from them or from Hobbycraft. It comes in bayonet or screw fitting, and although it's quite expensive (around £10) it's definitely worth every penny. It does have extra long life (claimed to last up to 8 times longer than a normal bulb - I can't verify that because I'm still on my first one, but I've had it quite a long time!) so really it's reasonably economical, and of course, environmentally friendly.

It gives a bright, white light close to normal daylight, so apart from the fact that it makes photography much easier, it's also a far better light for working under, meaning that your colours look natural and reducing eye strain. I might add that I have no connection with the Daylight Company whatsoever, but I do highly recommend these bulbs. I hope this information will be helpful.

Christmas things

Well, I managed to get everything finished in time to catch the last posting date. Phew! Now that I know that some of them have reached their intended recipients, I can post them here. The Inkadinkado Angel has been one of my favourite Christmas stamps this year. I've kept this card quite simple so as not to detract from the image, which I've embossed with kaleidoscope EP. The greeting is by Craftwork Cards

Here's the angel again, stamped over "Silent Night" by Magnolia. The printed picture is from CraftyIndividuals' Christmas Miniatures book.

Next a few cards inspired by one of the beautiful samples on Sue Nelson's HeartPrints gallery. I liked the simplicity of it. (I needed something quick to do!) The one on the left has a Cuttlebug background and Nestabilities frames, and the image is from Woodware. The one on the right uses a background paper from the Elusive Images "Season's Greetings" CD from Graphicus. Nestie frames again. The image is one I've had for years, by PSX.  Same details for the third card, except that the image is from Woodware. The greetings on all three cards are computer generated.

When we went to the Sir Stampalot demo day, I was really taken with Brenda's    little decorated tins. I bought some blank ones to have a go at doing my own. Here's the one I made for my daughter's mum-in-law. It's coloured with alcohol inks, then stamped and embossed on top. The stamp is by Craftwork Cards. Inside I've put little photos of her three grandchildren, two of whom are also mine!

We will be going up to stay with them for Christmas, so no food shopping or cooking for me to do! I'll be on grandma duties so that my daughter can get on with things, and that's just fine by me!

Anyway, this will probably be my last post before Christmas, so to everyone in Blogland, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and a very happy and peaceful New Year.

Meadow

Taking the colour removal technique a step further, I made this.



Using encaustic art card, the background was sponged with Distress inks, then the honesty seed pods were stamped in black and clear-embossed. I was thus able to remove the colour from them using a damp paintbrush without the water overflowing on to the rest of the background. I did the same for the campion flower near the centre, but having removed the background colour I then painted the flower with Distress inks. The remaining elements were simply stamped with Versamagic inks.

The picture was mounted on to an 8" x 8" card from Craftwork Cards, from where also came the background paper and the butterfly greeting. The butterfly was coloured with a Promarker. All stamps are Elusive Images from Graphicus, except for the trees in the background. The tiny fir trees are by Stampscapes, and the other tree is from Lavinia Stamps.

Autumn colours

My favourite season of the year is spring, when everything is bright and fresh and new. I don't like the dark mornings and evenings of the late autumn and winter, or the dull days. Having said all that, though, I do enjoy the colours of autumn. I am lucky to live in an area with lots of trees, and they are now changing their hues. I can sit at my desk and look at them through the window. Across the road from our house are some beautiful old elms, and the wind this afternoon brought the leaves swirling down like snow. We have a small forsythia bush in the front garden, and just now it is looking quite spectacular.



I wanted to capture the autumn colours in a card, and at the same time try out a technique I saw in the wonderful StampARTic Blog. It used foam stamps to take away colour from a Distress Inked background. The foam stamps were simply sprayed with water and stamped on to the background. Unfortunately I don't have any foam stamps. I do, however, have stencils and sponges. I figured that I might get a similar effect by stencilling with a damp sponge, and it worked! First I tried it on plain card, and it was not bad, but the best result was using encaustic art card, which is semi-gloss. The Distress Inks stay wetter on it for longer and can be blended more easily. Having made the background I then taped a stencil to it and sponged it with clean water.

My first attempt was not very good, as I had the sponge too wet and the water seeped under the stencil. Having the sponge just slightly damp was much better. I also found that I didn't need as much water as I thought anyway, because the colour faded even more as it dried. Another advantage of the encaustic art card is that the water doesn't bleed into it as much as with plain card, so the image stays sharper.

I used a stencil by The Crafter's Workshop, called "Windsong," which I thought was really quite appropriate. It reminds me of leaves being blown about in the wind, just perfect for this card. The tree and leaf stamps are Elusive Images from Graphicus, and the word is by Hero Arts. I really like this stencil technique, and I'll be doing more of it.

Butterflies 2

As I said in my previous post, the dearth of butterflies in our garden has prompted me to put some on my cards instead.


A fairly simple one to begin with. I didn't want too much to detract from the main image, which is an old Penny Black stamp from 1999, but still one of my favourites. I coloured it with Promarkers (my first attempt with them!)


This one uses an Inkadinkadoo stamp. The butterfly is diecut & mounted with the Cuttlebug, with my Martha Stewart punch for the borders.


Next a set of four Hero Arts patterned butterflies, stamped over My Mind's Eye papers.



Another criss-cross card, using papers from the Butterfly Bliss CD from Graphicus. The stamps are Elusive Images, also from Graphicus, except for the sentiment which is by Rubber Stamp Tapestry. The white butterfly, which appears when the insert is removed, is punched.


Finally, a mini landscape card. I cut a square mask, along with a few butterflies, and then sponged over them with pigment inks to make a background, adding the stamped images (Elusive Images) after removing the butterflies but before removing the square. The result was then cut out and embossed on the Cuttlebug, before being mounted on to a card stamped with more Elusive Images (from the Wild Meadow set). Of the five, I think this is my favourite. I may not have many butterflies in my garden these days, but they'll never be far away from my cards!

Criss Cross Cards

Looking for something a bit different to do with my class, I came across this tutorial by Beate Johns on the Splitcoast Stampers website. (The SCS site is definitely worth a look, as it has lots of ideas, techniques and galleries for inspiration.)

Instead of opening in the usual way, the criss cross card forms a pocket to hold an insert upon which a message can be written. There is obviously great scope, then, for decorating both pocket and insert. In her tutorial Beate has used printed papers. I have such an amount of papers that I really should start to use them, instead of just admiring them, so I thought that these cards would be just the thing. I have made three so far, with a combination of papers and stamping. I used some more of my prize Elusive Images Damask Blocks, and that Martha Stewart punch also made an appearance.













I made the orange one first, then when I'd got used to the method it was quite easy to change the size and shape to make the different designs. I think they make a nice change from conventional cards, and I really do have lots of papers to use up, so I don't think these will be the last I'll be making!

It's arrived!

My blog candy prize (the Elusive Images Damask Blocks) arrived this morning! Fortunately I had chance to play with them straightaway (couldn't wait!) and so here's the first card I've made. The background is from the Damask Backgrounds set, and the butterfly from the Artylicious Butterfly Bliss CD. All from Graphicus of course.



Very quick and simple, but isn't that damask shadow block utterly gorgeous?!

Blog Candy winner!!

That's me! I'm still pinching myself! I have won some Elusive Images candy from Graphicus! One of my favourite stamp ranges, no less. Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed my new blog header - made with Elusive Images stamps (by kind permission of Glenda - see copyright note on sidebar) in honour of the event! I've never won anything like this before, and I'm chuffed to bits! I don't know yet what my prize will be, except that it will be one of the new stamp sets being released this week. Can't wait to see them, as I think I will get to choose.

Watch this space!