August at Stamping Sensations Challenge

Hi everyone, we have another easy theme for you this month at Stamping Sensations! For August it's a case of

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES * * * * *

Just a little reminder, however. Although the theme can be anything you like, your entry must still adhere to our challenge rules, which you can read here. We are a stamping challenge, so stamping (using either conventional rubber/polymer stamps or hand coloured digital images) must be the focal (ie. main element) of your project. 

For my card, I decided to go with something old (the large butterfly, by Prickley Pear, small butterflies in background, by Crafty Individuals, and sentiment by The Craft's Meow), something new (Distress Oxide inks) and something new but old (the flourish frame by Bee Crafty) which I've had for quite a while but never used before!

I coloured the background first with the Oxide inks, and then overstamped the butterflies with the same inks. Stamped the frame on top with Versafine ink and cut out the middle. Stamped the sentiment on a separate piece of card and glued it behind the aperture. Stamped and diecut the large butterfly and attached it with a line of glue (used a Be Creative Wonder Glue pen) down the body only, so that the wings could be raised up for display, but would lie flat for posting. Finally matted it with a black border on to a 6" x 6" white card.

We have a brand new sponsor this month - Swedish House Crafts! This is a relatively new company run by the lovely Suha, and she has some fabulous designs! Check them out, along with the rest of her stock, in her online shop on the above link. She has very generously donated not just one but three prizes for our lucky winners! A £25 voucher top prize and two £10 vouchers for the runners up!

As you might expect, given that Anything Goes this month, our DT samples are delightfully diverse, and really showcase my teamies' varied talents! Do go and have a look at them on the Challenge Blog, and it would mean a lot to them if you were able to visit their individual blogs too.

I hope you can join us this month, and thanks for looking!

Bits And Pieces

Just some recent projects, starting with a few cards for friends and family.

Stamps: Altenew & Inkylicious. Stencil: Crafters Workshop.

Stamps: Altenew, Crafty Individuals & Inkylicious. Stencil: Crafters Workshop.

Stamps: Lavinia Stamps & The Craft's Meow (sentiment)



 Stamps: Inkylicious & Lavinia Stamps.

And  few DT makes for Be Creative, using their stunning new embossing crystals.

Butterfly stamp on notebook: Hero Arts. Butterfly diecut on tealight holder: Frantic Stamper. Background papers: Be Creative.

Thanks for looking!

Citrasolv-ed!

Whilst browsing Pinterest one day recently, I came across some artwork that I really liked. Diffuse, mystical backgrounds, to which various elements had been added. I followed the links to see how it was done, and thus discovered Citrasolv art. It involved using a cleaning solvent (Citrasolv) to break up the inks in a printed picture, giving amazing effects!

Here's the Citrasolv website, where you'll find lots of info and examples.  

I couldn't wait to try it! The only problem was I didn't have any Citrasolv! It is, of course, an American product. Anyway, back in about 1995 while visiting the USA, I bought some stuff called Goo Gone. Like Citrasolv it is a citrus based cleaner, albeit made with petroleum distillates, which Citrasolv doesn't have. My American host was using some to get rid of the sticky mess left by labels when you try to get them off, and because at that time I had never found anything here which would do that easily, I bought some to bring home.

 

I didn't know whether Goo Gone would work in the same way as Citrasolv, but decided it was worth a try. I had about a third of the bottle left (been using it very sparingly!) First I tried it with an old magazine, but nothing happened. The inks didn't shift at all. Apparently many of the artists on the website use National Geographic mags, something to do with the type of ink and the fact that the photo pages are clay coated. So I scrounged a couple of old copies from my daughter.

 

They worked a treat! The Goo Gone produced some great papers, which I then scanned on the computer. Just wish I'd thought to scan the original photos too before I altered them, to compare. I'll remember next time! Since you'll never get the same result twice, it makes sense to scan your original altered pic, which you can then keep, and use a printed copy in your project. Once you've got your printed copy, you can then enhance it however you wish.

These are a few of the best results. 

And here's a card I made with the first one. I used my graphics programme to add the butterfly (one of my own photos) , and stamped the sentiment (by The Craft's Meow).

To the second paper I added a stamped fairy, some leaves hanging down from the top (both Lavinia Stamps) and some tiny butterflies (The Craft's Meow). I used a fine drawing pen to turn some of the blobs into flowers, and enhanced some of the elements, including the fairy's wings, with glitter glue.

Knowing I would want to do more, (and by then having only a few drops of my precious Goo Gone left!) I went online to see if I could get hold of some Citrasolv. Found it on Am*z*n, and ordered some forthwith. 

There's a very good YouTube video by Cathy Taylor, one of the artists profiled on the Citrasolv website. Once you find that one, which is a good one for the basic instructions, it will then lead you to others. 

I haven't yet had time to try it with the Citrasolv, but I have high hopes for it! And if it doesn''t work, at least I have a replacement for the Goo Gone! 

Stamping Sensations May Challenge

Well, at last it's beginning to feel a bit more like spring up here! I'm looking out of my craft room window on to a bank of beautiful daffodils across the road. They were at least three weeks later opening than last year. It's even getting warmer - we only need two jumpers on now instead of three! Roll on summer, though, we need more sun!

Anyway, we have a lovely new challenge for you at Stamping Sensations, and our theme is

***** EMBOSSING AND TEXTURE *****

Any kind of embossing will be acceptable, dry or heat embossing, and there is endless scope for adding texture to your projects.

Our sponsor this month is the fabulous Tonic Studios, who have donated an awesome prize! A Peruvian Lily Stamp and Punch set and a gorgeous lattice window die, both from the Pick of the Bunch range designed by our very own super-talented Ruth Hamilton!

What a gorgeous prize! I want one! The Punch and Stamp sets really are stunning. Just imagine creating a lovely window box full of flowers in front of that lovely lattice window.

So, on to my card. I have incorporated both types of embossing.

The dry embossing helps to create the texture, as do the layers and embellishments. I stamped the fuchsia (from Tonic Studios' Pick of the Bunch range by Ruth) and heat embossed it with Wow! Neutral Ultra Shimmer embossing powder, which has a gorgeous sparkle. You can just about see it in the next photo. It was then coloured with Promarkers and cut out with a Nestie Labels 4 die. 

It is sitting on a background dry embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The left hand side of the background has a lily (also from the Pick of the Bunch range) stamped over Gelli printed paper. The join is covered with a strip punched with a Tonic Studios border punch. The diecut butterfly is by Cheery Lynn, and the sentiment by The Craft's Meow.

My lovely teamies have some absolutely gorgeous samples for you this month, so do pop over to the Challenge Blog where I'm sure you'll be inspired!

Things with wings

The theme for August's Stampalot Challenge is right up my street! It's

TAKE FLIGHT

Now that should give plenty of scope - birds, insects, fairies, angels, or even aeroplanes spring to mind -  but for me it just has to be my favourite subject, butterflies!

I've been a bit awol over the past few weeks, busy with various things which have kept me away from blogging (some of which were crafty stuff, but more about that another time!) but I did manage to make my butterfly cards.

For the first one the butterflies are from a Hero Arts Framelits set. I've stamped them on to printed papers from Crafty Individuals (Book 3 Springtime) and then cut them out with the Framelits die included in the set. I've used the same papers for the centre circle, and for the banner (banner stamp by Waltzing Mouse and butterfly word by Crafty Individuals). The doily is by Cheery Lynn.

My second card showcases one of my latest acquisitions, by Prickley Pear, which is fast becoming one of my all-time favourite butterfly stamps, along with the others in the set!

Here the butterfly has alighted on a background of Trimcraft papers ("Neighbourwood" by Helz Cuppleditch) with an Aspects of Design (by The Stampman) Nestie frame stamp, sentiment by The Craft's Meow, and ribbon from my stash. The butterfly has a matching die (available separately) which makes cutting it out so easy.

There are two different sets of the Prickley Pear butterflies, and I have to confess I bought them both! How could I have resisted when they are all so beautiful? You'll be seeing plenty more of them in the not too distant future!

But back to August at Stampalot Challenge. The prize is fabulous, as usual.

My lovely teamies have come up with some absolutely gorgeous designs, so do pop over to the Challenge Blog for plenty of inspiration. I have a feeling that this month's theme is going to be very popular, and I'm looking forward to seeing lots of winged things, butterflies or not!

Fluttering by!

I'm really busy at the moment, but just nipping in for a quick post. I rather liked the sketch for the May challenge at The Craft's Meow, so I thought I'd use it for a birthday card for a friend.

This is the sketch. 

 

And here's my card.

I used Craftwork Cards background paper and small butterfly stamp, K & Co paper for the semicircles on the right, Hero Arts/Sizzix Framelits (stamps and dies) for the two larger butterflies, and a Craft's Meow frame and sentiment cut with a Nestie die, as were the semicircles.

I'm entering this card in the Craft's Meow May Sketch Challenge (my first ever entry in their challenges, but hopefully not my last!)

Stampalot August Challenge

Another "anything goes" theme for Sir Stampalot Challenge this month with

WHATEVER YOU FANCY

I decided to use one of my favourite Penny Black stamps, the poppy, embossed on to an alcohol inked background and coloured with Promarkers. This was then attached over some Papermania background paper with some lace to trim the edges. The sentiment, by The Craft's Meow, was stamped on to a Nestie label.

The prize on offer for August is this fabulous selection of goodies!

So good luck everyone! I'm sorry this is such a short post, but I'm just about to head off up to Scotland to do some house hunting. Wish me luck!

Silhouettes

As part of my ongoing clearout, I'd been going through some of my old Take Ten mags, tearing out the pages I wanted to keep and filing them in a ring binder, so that I could get rid of the rest. In one of them was the most beautiful set of cards by Tilly McLeod, with gorgeous coloured backgrounds and silhouette details, exactly the sort of  style which really appeals to me. Tilly has very kindly allowed me to case her cards, and share the result here, although my method was slightly different from hers. Do go and have a look at Tilly's blog, her work is fabulous.

Tilly made her backgrounds by inking up a palette stamp with various colours and stamping straight on to the card, then adding definition with watercolour pencils or the edge of an inkpad, whereas I painted mine with a wash of distress inks and mounted it separately with a thin black border. The stamped couple (Stampscapes) and birds (part of a stamp by Inkylicious) were added, along with the sentiment (The Craft's Meow).

I really like this clean and simple style. Thanks for the inspiration, Tilly!