Beautiful roses

Good Morning to you all! 

I have got up early so I can get my car to the garage early for it's annual service! So I have taken the opportunity to write a little blog about one of the cards I made for Maria's last show on Hochanda.

 I really loved the rose plate and decided that I did not want tot make a small card but how can I get more roses than the ones on the plate...I set my brain cogs whirring and also my stamping head as I sometimes find that if I think 'If this was a stamp what would I do.' then I can use the plates better.

I had got all the plates out on the table in front of me and I saw the tags border. I also saw the nested square plate and then my brain kicked into action.

I started off by Creating a rectangle using the square and moving the parchment to extend the sides. I made it as big as I could on a piece of A5 parchment leaving enough of an edge so I could prick round it and snip it out.

I then started in the corner with the tag border and chose the small two sizes of tags I did then moved the parchment down and did the next one moving in a diagonal direction. I wanted to end up at the opposite bottom corner. I tilted and turned the tags so that seven would fit in. I then went back to the square plate and did the border. Then using the alphabet on the Groovi plate mate, I added the letters FRIENDS.

Now for the roses. I positioned the parchment over the rose plate and did the first lot of roses making sure I stopped at the lines I already had on the parchment. I moved the parchment and did more roses again avoiding the lines I had already got. I added a few more leaves where I thought they needed to be. 

I created the squares on the border by using the nested squares plate then I added dot by using the ball tool from the back on the soft side of the Groovi mat. I filled the letters in with white work and added some shading to the roses with gentle white work...I didn't want it too white just to make the outsides of the petals lighter as they would be on real roses. When I was happy with this I then set about colouring it.

You all know how mush I love pink....and I could quite happily have done pink roses but I decided to go a different colour and looked at what I had in the way of yellows and oranges. I used a mixture of Spectrum Aqua, Distress markers and whisper pens...all water based and I find work well together on the parchment. They blend OK but don't make the parchment too wet!

I coloured the frames around the letters using brown then pricked using a half moon shaped tool in the bottom of each frame then all around the outside of the rectangular shape I started with. I snipped this out with my new snips that Colin got me for Christmas. I cut a piece of orange card exactly the same size as the parchment then matted this onto a piece of brown card. I attached the parchment to this using bronze coloured brads then stuck this to the card blank.

I was pleased with the final card and I loved the tones the pens gave me.

It would be nice if you could let me know what you think! Would you have chosen a different colour or do you like this tones I chose?

Happy Crafting

Love and hugs xxxx

 

Home Sweet Home

Good evening!
I hope you have all had a good day!
It was lovely to leave work today while it was still light! SO many days, in the winter, I go to work in the dark and leave when it's dark so it makes it special to get away on time and especially when it was so bright and sunny! I didn't even need my coat on to walk out to the car park. 

This evening I would like to share with you another of my samples from Barbara's last show on Hochanda using the Wee houses, the circle framer the words home sweet home from the little set of stamps by the same name. I also used the cat and the dog from the miniature set that went with the thank-you framer set.

I started off brushing a pale blue/green ink through the circle framer. I made sure it was not in the centre so I had space for the houses on the top of it.

I then stamped the houses around the top starting with the centre one and then working outwards so it looked even. I made sure the corners of the houses touched which is easy with Clarity stamps! 

I coloured the houses using pencil crayons then stamped the sentiment and the animals into place using black archival ink. I brushed a little colour in the corners of the card to take the whiteness off it. I did this with the ink left on my brush....they hold more than you think!

I then matted onto black then onto a white 8 x 8 card blank.

I hope you like it!

Let me know what you have been up to and if you have time today why not hop over to Barbara's blog to find out what is going on in her world today and maybe a few of the design team who have wonderful blogs...you can find the links on my blog or they are all listed on our Barbara's.

In the meantime happy crafting
Love and hugs


xxx

Color Bursts Always!

Good evening and Happy New Year!

I got a bit of a shock when I saw the date of my last blog post....I really don't know where that time has gone but my life feels a bit like a whirlwind and I guess the blog is the least of my worries. I will try though to be a better blogger from now on! 

Anyway it's a couple of weeks since Barbara introduced The Wee houses and the Wee shops to us on Hochanda. I love them and can see them becoming a popular little set of stamps. 

I started off by making a set of masks for the houses. Clarity sell blank sheets of the masks so I stamped the houses and shops onto one of the sheets with black archival ink and cut them out. This way I have got them for a long time. 
I stamped the row of shops and houses on a piece of Sheena's stamping card then masked them off. I then spritzed the card with water then added color bursts by Ken Oliver above and below the houses. I added more water and lifted the card so the colour dripped down the page. I let the colour soak in a bit then gently dabbed with a paper towel but not too much as I didn't want to lift too much colour off the card. I left this to dry naturally for the afternoon.

Once it was dry I removed the masks then coloured the houses in using a mixture of distress, whisper markers and spectrum aqua pens which are all water based. I then chose a word I liked from the wordchains ...I chose ALWAYS. 
I matted it onto black card then onto a white card blank. 

I hope you like it. 

Let me know if you have a go at this technique or if you have used the houses in a different way

Happy Crafting

xxxxx




  

A pair of dancers!

Good morning 
I have been a really bad blogger and not done any blogging for ages...I did get a shock when I saw the last date I blogged! So this morning I thought I would share with you a couple of small canvasses that I did for the last Claritystamp show in September and remind you that Barbara is back on our TV screens today on Hochanda at 2 - 4pm and then again at 6-7pm.

I used two smaller canvasses to make the panels and added grunge paint through stencils then added colour to match the two backgrounds. The dancers were added by stamping onto tissue then using modge podge to stick it to the canvas and seal it!

Hope you have a good day...I am off to finish some projects off and watch Barbara on the telly at 2pm! 

Happy Crafting

A summer full of crafting!

Good Morning...its a nice bright morning here today so Colin has decided to cut the hedges at the front so it gives me time to have a coffee and come and chat to you!

It's hard to think that this time next week I will be back at work!! I could quite get used to being a lady of leisure! But then work pays the bills so its a necessary evil!

I have had a very good summer break all told and managed lots of crafting which has to be good. I certainly know that when I eventually do retire I will be able to fill my days and I certainly will not be bored! 

Yesterday I had a bit of a crochet day! I still haven't finished my blanket for the computer chair so I had a push on making more squares to do it....I have massively underestimated how many I would need first time round and the blanket is no where long enough. It is nearly wide enough but needs more length....oh and the arms need covering. It's looking nice though. I will show you when it is complete and on the chair.

During my crafty sessions I have managed to make my Christmas cards. I thought I had done them all but I still have one or two special ones to do but I can manage that in the next holiday! It gives me something to aim for.

Anyway enough of my prattling on.....here are the cards I made for the July Clarity Show ...as it happens the last one on Create and Craft. 

It was the launch of the new Clarity Christmas Stamps...they are so lovely!

I had a lot of fun making these and have used two of them again for some my own cards but I won't tell you which ones! Which would you choose?

Right I need to go and do a few odd jobs around the house! Have a good day whatever you decide to do!

Happy Crafting 

PS Don't forget that Barbara is back on telly this Thursday at 12 noon on the new channel for craft HOCHANDA

Have a look here http://www.craftbusiness.com/news/view/http-www.craftbusiness.com-news-view-launch-date-announced-for-hochanda-c

It's going to be great to see our Barb back!

3 Owls and a Hen

Good afternoon to you all. I now have two weeks left of my holiday. And I have done all my Christmas cards and one or two birthday cards ready for September ...getting ahead of the game as it were. I feel that come September I won't have a lot of time to do much crafting but hey....it pays the bills! I just have to hope that in the next two weeks I win the lottery!

I thought today I would share the final two cards I hadn't yet blogged from the June Clarity stamp show! 

FOr the first one I used the hen! She's a lovely big bird ( just like me....hahaha).

I stamped her in the middle of a piece of Gelli Card and then coloured her using promarkers. I masked her off and put the hexagonal stencil over her and just brushed lightly around the shape...I didn't even add any ink to my brush..just used what was already on the brown brush. I then stamped the nests along each edge turning th ecard as I went. I coloured these in and then matted and layered the card onto and 8 x 8 card.

The next card used the owls! 

I took a piece of dark brown card and stamped the owls in versamark then embossed them in some gold sparkly wow powder. I added versamark pen to the edges of the card and more embossing powder the matted and layer it onto a cream 8 x 8 card. I then added the sentiment stamped in brown archival then shadow stamped it in 2nd generation ink.

I think they look really cute all sitting there!

Right I best be off!

I have an appointment at the dentists and need to do a few things before I go there!

Have a good afternoon whatever you are doing!

 If you drop by for a nosey leave me a comment..I love seeing what you think!

Happy Crafting

Cock-a-Doodle-doo!

Good afternoon to all in blogland...have you missed me..probably not!

Since the last entry I have been ever so slightly busy with finishing work for the summer break then going to Crowborough for the Clarity Retreat! What a top event that is. If you ever get the chance to go then do it! Barbara is a fantastic teacher and Paul makes a great teaching assistant! Its also a great way to meet up with friends you only get to see on fb or once in a while!

So this afternoon I thought I would blog a card I made for the June show that I hadn't shown you yet...this cock is a very large stamp and I stamped and embossed him in some black sparkly embossing powder then coloured him in with promarkers. I then placed the inny of the stencil over him and using mountain rose and butterscotch adirondack inks brushed around him.

I matted onto black then an orange patterned paper I had in my stash then on to an 8 x 8 card blank. 

Hope you like it!

That's all for today!

Happy Crafting.