A Christmas Jumper and a Castle

Good Morning

Oh I have been a bad Blogger! I realised today that I have not blogged any of my cards from the last Claritystamp Show at the beginning of October and that we are almost at the end of the month! 

A mixture of busy work and play and a couple of health issues (which hopefully are getting sorted now) have meant that my blog has been a bit neglected! 

So I hope that you will excuse me but also take a bit of time to have a look at the artwork I did for the last show. 

The first two use the let heaven and earth sing set. 
The tag was used to 'mop up' some leftover distress reinkers I was using for something else and I thought it would make a great sky. 

The next one with this set was done on the gelli plate with ink. I brayered the background then added the trees and deer with versa fine ink then pulled a print. That is why the deer is the opposite way round to the first card.

The next set is the one that became known as Dave's Jumper! 
This little card used the re-mountable patterns and the sentiment only. Easy to build lovely patterns with them.

And then I went for the full set.
The background was done on the gelli plate with the knitting stencil and gold and brown paint. The jumper and pocket were stamped onto card then cut out and given a bit of dimension using foam pads.

The next three used the lacey stencils

This one done in three paint layers on the gelli plate. However you can still make out the knitting stencil on the print even though it looked like it had all gone!

This one used the doves and I ran it through the Grand calibur. I then replaced the stencil and applied versamark to the exposed parts then mica powders. The sentiment was from the castle set and stamped in versamark then mica powders over the top.

And the final one with this set was done on black card using grunge paste. Once dried the stencil was replaced and the grunge paste coloured using distress inks and a makeup sponge. The background was a piece of craft card stamped with versamark.

The last two cards used the Castle set. 

This was actually the first card I made when I got the stamps. 
I stamped the castle and cut out masks for it! I masked off the castle and created the clouds and the scenery. Then coloured the castle in. I added the flags to this one as it is day time!

The final one took a bit longer to do and a bit of planning!
I used the large gelli plate to stamp the castle and make a reflection. then stamped the castle in place to match up. I added the masks and moon masks to both sides of the picture and then made the dark sky and hills then tried to do the same shapes in the water end. I removed the masks and added shadow to the moons. A white pen added stars  in the sky and reflections in the water. I then coloured the castle with promarkers. The one in the water end looked darker but then it is a reflection!
I was really pleased with this one!

Anyway there you have all last shows Samples! Let me know what you think!

And don't forget Barbara will be back on the telly this Sunday on create and craft TV 9 - 11am with some more stunning stamps and stencils! 

Hope you can tune in!

Happy Crafting

The Seasons

Well good morning to you all and welcome to a new month! That can only mean the start of a new Challenge over at the Clarity Stamp Challenge Blog.

I cannot believe that September has been and gone....where is the time going? It won't be long until the cold weather is properly with us and then it'll be Christmas before we can blink!

Well done to all those people who entered the Nature challenge. The entries were fabulous again! I hope you enjoy this months challenge. I think the DT did looking at all the brilliant inspirational projects they have for you this time.

So This months Challenge is The Seasons and I went for Winter. I used one ink pad to do the most of this apart from the  and that was Stormy Sky Distress ink. i also used black archival to stamp the tree and deer I used the Winter Wonderland Set to do this too.

I created the circle of snowflakes first using my inkadinkado cog.

I then added a moon mask and brushed some ink over it being careful not to go over the snowflakes.

I tore some paper and created hills using my ink brush then make up sponge. I took the moon mask of and added a moon shadow using the ink brush.

I stamped one tree in black and the other in 2nd generation Stormy Sky. then the deer were added.

I matted this on silver then I took an 8 x 8 card blank and stamped the snowflake all over it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Stormy Sky ink. I then added the main image to it and here is the completed card.

I do hope you will have a look at the rest of the DT cards on htier blogs and then most importantly have a go at the challenge for yourself...after all there is a voucher of £50 to be won.....It could be you!

Happy Crafting. 

The Great Outdoors

Good Evening

Having just finished my samples for the Clarity Stamp show next Sunday I thought I would blogs the final two from the last show. 
The first I stamped and embossed in clear powder on water colour card then brushed over in stripes with a wet flat paint brush dipped in some distress re-inkers.

The second on I stamped in black archival onto water colour card then flicked ink at it by flicking the paint brush. I then used ink and a lot of water to fill in the colour on the picture.

I just love the Distress re-inkers

Anyway have a good week ahead!
Happy Crafting

The Birds!

Good Afternoon

Two more cards for you from September's Claritystamp Show on Create and Craft. I loved the new stamps and Stencils on that show...mind you I say that every month!

This first card started off as me playing with ink and shaving foam and the Bird Tree stencil. The image on the stencil is a little bigger than the stamp but that is great if you want to add some perspective to your work.

I used grunge paste to get the image over the background.

I had added a few hills to the shaving foam background and once the grunge paste was dry I inked it in black. The words were made up by using The from The Great outdoors stamp and the BIRDS was made up from Birthday and friendship from the word Chain stamps.

The next card was made using the stamp. 

I started off by putting the stencil on the card and adding a moon mask. I covered over the top part and spritzed the bottom with brown dylusion ink quite heavily then moved it up a bit and spritzed some more. I then spritzed the sky area with orange then carefully removed the moon mask and spritzed the sky in yellow. I removed the stencil then left it to dry. 

I stamped the tree in black archival ink then cleaned the stamp well and then masked off all but the top 5 birds. I inked these up and stamped them outside the frame to extend the birds outside the picture. I stamped the sentiment in the corner and used watercolour paints to colour it in autumnal colours.

So those were the 2 cards using this set.

Please let me know what you think of these by leaving me a comment.

Happy Crafting

If one bird can't do it....Toucan!

Good Morning to you all and I thought I would share with you two cards done for the last Clarity Stamp show. The Toucan is a fascinating and almost comical bird! And the stamp does not disappoint! It's fab!

To go with the Toucan there are the most fantastic cheese plant leaves!  We had a plant of this in our old house and it eventually took over a corner of our dining room! Unfortunately it did not survive the move!

 Any way the first card took a lot of masking and then colouring but I think it looks great as if there were just a load of toucans all waiting for something. 

The next card took a bit longer as I had to stamp and colour the leaves, then cut them out...its a good job I like cutting out!

The idea was that the leaves were the jungle and as you opened the jungle up inside a clearing were the toucans hiding!

Here's how the card looked closed 

And here it is open

The leaves on the inside are stamped using the solid leaf shapes and 2 colours of ink. I ad stamped and masked the toucans onto the card so that they would be in front on the leaves. I did use a few that I had cut out around them to add a bit of dimension! 

Thanks for looking! Have a lovely weekend.

Happy Crafting

Nature

Good Morning to you all. By the time you get to look at this I will be back at work and feeling like I have never been away! I can't believe I have had my summer hols! The time has just flown by but I have done lots of lovely thing but I think the highlight of my holiday has to be the trip to the Claritystamp Retreat in Crowborough. 

Anyway back to reality now and doing the job that pays for my crafting addiction!

Today not only see the start of a new school year but it also sees the start of a new Challenge over at the Clarity Blog. Its worth a visit to see all the rules about the challenge and to see all the fabulous projects done by the DT to give you some inspiration. This month the theme is NATURE

Here's mine and for this one I have done a step by step tutorial for the main image of the card at least So here goes!

This is what I got out to start with. I will list everything I used at the end. 

I trimmed a piece of Theuva card top and side by 2 cm

I then brushed the edges with Old Paper Distress ink more round the edges but bringing it into the middle.

I then continued to build up the colour round the edges with Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy and frayed burlap trying to keep a lightness in the middle but darker up the left hand side and at the bottom.

I finished off with Vintage Photo and Gathered twigs distress inks.

Don't worry if it looks a bit blotchy...its just a background.

Now use the script and diamonds stamps out of the journaling set. I used Old Paper Distress ink for both of these and second generation ink

(INK BLOT PLOT)

I then took the verse Count your Garden and stamped this in Antique Linen ink. Remember its a background so go off the page and dot it about a bit. And that's the background done. 

Now I got the gathered twigs distress ink pad and used it to stamp the verse,

then the tree branch and the insects. Remember that when you stamp the branch you do some ink blot plot to get the depth.

I then used a blending tool and darkened the edges with Vintage Photo and that was the main image finished.

I matted this on to black card

and trimmed it to a very fine border.

So the rest was a matter of finishing it off. When I was tidying up after making some other cards I found this piece of corrugated craft card so thought that would be perfect. I did go over it with my blending tool and Vintage Photo ink to tone it to the card.. I then tore a piece of brown card and a piece of pale orange and stuck these across the card having attached a piece of twine. I stuck all this onto a card blank 21 x 21 cm. I added the image I had made using foam tape and then added the twine bow and the paper flower. 

And here it is

Please let me know what you think of it.

I hope you spend some time looking at the other DT blogs then have a go at the challenge...you could win yourself £50 voucher to spend with Clarity.

Here's what I used

Distress Inks 

( Old Paper, Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs)

Tree branch Stamp

Dragonfly

Lucky set (little dragonfly)

Journaling set(script and diamonds and branch)

Blooming Corner Kit (bee and dragonfly)

Count your Garden verse

Happy Crafting

Lacy Swallows

Good Morning

I thought that today I would share another of the cards from August 3rd ClarityStamp show

I started off by cutting a piece of theuva card to an oblong and stamping the Arty Heart in the centre.

I then stamped the large and small Lacy Swallow on either side so it looked like they were holding the heart in their beaks (I did just need to use my black micron pen). 

I then masked off the birds and using raspberry adirondack I brushed the bottom of the card fading it to the centre. I then switched to stonewashed blue and getting rid of a lot of ink I brushed the top of the card again fading it so the centre was hardly coloured.

I removed the masks and coloured the birds in using Spectrum Noir pencils. 

To colour the heart I found some pink papers in my stash and black embossed the heart onto 3 different designs. I cut these out then paper pieced the heart.

I drew a wiggly line round the edge twice so it over lapped and drew lines in these spaces then coloured them in pink and blue. I matted the image in pink and blue then onto a white card blank

And here is the finished card. Let me know what you think please!

Hope you have a nice day...its going sunny here!

Happy Crafting