Trees

Hi crafter's

It's been a while since my last post what with all the Christmas preparations so I thought I was due some me time. Nothing better than crafting, apart from reading, and the Clarity challenge is about to close. I have made a simple card using a Gelli print I had in my stash. As the theme is trees I decided to use one of the trees from the New Design Club. I cut out a circle with a Spellbinders die then stamped the tree in the centre with black Versafine and embossed with clear powder. Blend the colours Cranberry and Sandal all over then scrunch up a plastic bag (mine was a fruit and veg one from the supermarket) tap on to Stream ink pad and then randomly on the circle. Go around the edge with Rueberry ink. Draw stitch lines around the circle in black. Ink up the large flourish stamp in Rueberry and stamp out from the bottom left hand corner in second generation stamping. Blend Rueberry around the edge then mount on to a white base card. Attach the circle as shown.
As I said a simple card, must go now and make a trifle for New Years day.
Thanks for taking the time to look.

Happy New Year

Sally

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge

 

Hi crafter's

I have been a bit slow getting my entry done for the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge. This challenge always gets me thinking hard because of using colours I would not always use together. The stamp I have used comes from the Fancy Flowers set and the stencils are Clarity. Tape down the Clarity honeycomb stencil, the centre comes out leaving a square. Colour the background with Victorian Velvet, Wild Honey and Cranberry inks blending together with Ink Dusters. Stamp the small flower from the stamp set in black Archival ink, colour in with Promarkers. Draw a line from the bottom of the flower down to the bottom of the card with a black fine liner pen. To add interest to the background ink through the honeycomb stencil on opposite corners, in Wild Honey and Cranberry. Use the Clarity trellis stencil in the middle colouring with Victorian Velvet. I used my Splodge mat when I was blending the inks so use the left over ink on the flower stamp. Repeat stamp around the coloured flowers, this just adds more depth. Remove the square stencil then draw around the edge to frame. To create the lines in the corners use an old store card or something similar, pick up some gesso on the edge then swipe on the card. Repeat this a few times. Now do this again this time with black ink. I took the sentiment The earth laughs in flowers and inked up the word flowers,Stamp this as shown in first, second and third generation stamping. To finish use Glossy Accents on the flowers. Attach to a white base card with foam pads leaving a border. That's all for this one, hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Path to Christmas

Hi crafter's

Another card made with the Stampscape stamps. I have just bought the Snowy Creek and the Birch Trees. Love these trees seem to be using them all the time. This will be someone's Christmas card, not sure who it will be yet. I started with an A6 piece of Clarity silk card. Ink up the Snowy Creek with Archival Watering Can and stamp at the bottom, then ink up the trees and stamp along the edge of the creek. Mask the trees then repeat stamp to make a larger group of trees. I have used Tumbled Glass and Willow inks to add colour, following the shading in the stamp. To make the hills in the background I used the hills and mountains stencil by Inkylicious. Add a touch of colour to the trees here and there. Blend blue ink around the edges. Use a little Pearly Stuff by Woodware to create falling snow and white glitter glue to the trees and water. Mat on to some black card. Inky up the new snowflakes stamp from Indigoblu with Versamark and stamp on to opposite corners of a white base card. Rub some mica powder over the stamping. Attach the panel to the centre of the card. Stamp the word Christmas on to a scrape of white card and mount on to black card, stick on the bottom of the topper. Quite simple but very effective I think. That's all for now. Hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by

Sally

Narnia

Hi crafter's

I have been playing with my Stampscape stamps again this time focusing on the Small Pines and Rocks. I have used the Clarity silk card the same as in my previous post but in landscape. To start ink up the pines and rocks with Archival Watering Can. I prefer grey ink to black it gives a softer look. Stamp three times as shown. To fill the gap ink up as before then dab off the rocks with kitchen towel, then stamp on to copier before going to the silk card. Repeat this again stamping behind the trees to give more depth. Ink up the Lilly Grass and stamp a few times to give interest to the water. I have used Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky inks to create the water and sky. To do this put some Tumbled Glass on to a blending mat, pick up the colour with Cut'n'Dry foam and sweep from the edge to the middle leaving it lighter in the centre. Sweep the ink from the rocks in to the middle as well. Continue colouring this way up the sides and along the top to create the beginnings of the sky. Take some Stormy Sky ink and start to make the shadows by adding ink at the bottom of the rocks and near the Lilly Grass. Add a water edge at the bottom of the trees in the gap. Going back to the sky add more of the light blue sweeping down from the top at an angle, then add a little more darker blue. Not a lot of ink is needed to achieve this sky. Blend a little Willow ink  above the rocks and at the bottom of the trees, this makes it look like there is some grass. Use Willow in the sky and in the water. Colour in the rocks with Weathered wood using Cut'n'Dry nibs. Add highlights with a white gel pen in the water, rocks and a few lines down the trees. Mat and layer on to light blue and black card then mount on to a white base card. That's it for now, thanks for looking.

Sally

Sailing under the blue moon

Hi crafter's

I have recently come across some scene building stamps from Stampscapes. They are brilliant for creating real life scenes. These stamps fill that desire to make something that looks like a painting and I am addicted to them, I need them all! The card above was one of the first I made and I was so pleased with the result. I have quite a stash of them now. The process isn't difficult. I started with an A6 piece of Clarity silk card. First I inked up Seaside Cove Sm with Adirondack Eggplant, stamp at the bottom of the card. Then I took the Moon stamp and inked up as before. Dab the ink off the edges of the stamp leaving just the moon, now stamp in the sky. Ink up the Milky Way stamp in Eggplant and dab some of the ink from the edges. Stamp next to the moon on one side then repeat the other side. Underneath the moon I did the same but used second generation stamping. Lastly I inked the Sailboat (love this little boat) and placed it in the water. To colour in I have used Distress Inks in blue and purple. Put some light blue on to a Splodge mat and using some Cut'n'Dry foam sweep ink from the outside towards the middle leaving some white in the centre. Repeat going from the other side. Pick a darker shade of blue and sweep from the edge again but don't cover all the first colour. The sky is coloured in the same way but I have used more purple than blue leaving more lighter areas, the stamp will guide you. Add some purple in to the water to reflect the sky. Create shadow in front of the boat with Cut'n'Dry Nibs, these are very handy for all the small details. For the beach and rocks I used Adirondack Sandal. Lastly add highlights with a white gel pen. Put white in the sea, splashes against the rocks and stars in the sky. Buff up the silk card with a tissue. My background  was made using the ink left on the Splodge mat, spritz with water and pick up the colour with a piece of paper. Cut to size. Mat and layer silk card and background paper on to black card. Mount on to a white base card.
That's all for this time, hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by

Sally

Walking in the snow

Hi crafter's

This card is going to be entered in to the Crafty Individuals challenge it can be a Halloween or Christmas project. I have chosen Christmas simply because I love this stamp and find any reason to use it. The backgound was created with the Gelli plate. Mask the centre of the Gelli plate with a piece of paper the same size as the stamp. Brayer the colours on to the plate, I used purple, white and pale blue. Blot the paint with some scrunched up paper to add texture. Remove the mask and take a print. Stamp the image in to the masked off space. Colour in with pencils then go over with some clear Sakura Gelly pen, spread over with water. This is a quick easy way to make it sparkle. Mask the centre again with a clean mask. Ink up the new snowflakes stamp from Indigoblu with Versamark and emboss with white powder. Draw a wiggly line around the main image with a black fine liner pen. Run a black Promarker around the outside edge and mount on to a white base card. Really pleased how this turned out, hope you like it too.

That's it for now, thanks for looking

Sally

Autumn tree

Hi crafter's

This card is going to be entered in to the Chocolate Baroque colour challenge. The challenge has four set colours to use any way you want, which is great fun to do. I have used the Orchard Build a Tree stamp set. I began by masking the middle section with the mountains stencil from Inkylicious but torn copier paper is just as good. Start by blending the colours Antique Linen, Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade on the top half. Lay the circles stencil (by Mr Huey) as shown and ink through with Frayed Burlap. The bottom half is done the same way using a Clarity flourish stencil and blended with Wild Honey for a very soft look. Remove all stencils and ink up one of the trees with brown ink, I used Versafine. Stamp a selection of the little flowers in the three main colours. Use a brown fine line marker pen and draw wiggly lines to highlight the middle panel and also extend the roots of the tree. Ink up the words in brown ink and stamp as shown. To take away the whiteness swipe a little Antique Linen. Run a complimentary promarker around the edge to frame then mount on to a Kraft card base. That's it for this time, thanks for looking.

Sally

Nature

Hi crafter's

I was very lucky to be chosen as a top 5 winner of last months Clarity challenge Feminine. This month I'm a bit behind so have done a very simple card. The subject is Nature so I have picked the hummingbird stamp and the flourish stamps and stencil. Firstly I stamped the bird in the centre of my piece of card then masked him with a post-it note. The stencil behind the bird is by Mr Huey and was inked through with Juniper and Peach Bellini fading out at the edge. Next I took the flourish stencil and coloured the same as before in alternate corners. The large and small flourish stamps where inked up in Juniper and stamped as shown. To colour in the bird I used Spectrum Noir pencils then blended with Sansodor and a paper stump. To frame I ran a Promarker in Soft Green around the edges then mounted on to white card.

As I said quite quick and simple, the colouring took most of my time. Hope you like it. 

Thanks for stopping by

Sally

Seahorses

Hi crafter's

 Just a quick card using the seahorses from Designs by Ryn. They are really lovely to colour in. I started by stamping the seahorses in black Archival ink. To create the sea weed I mixed some Inktense blocks with water. Splat the paint on to the card then blow through a straw to get the sea weed shape. Using sequin waste and Peacock Feathers ink add more detail to the weed. Load up a paint brush with colour a flick for extra interest. Colour the seahorses in, I used the blocks again to make a paint. Lay down a dots stencil (mine is from That Special Touch) at the top and spread clear dimension paste, when it has dried rub Petina gilding wax (Cosmic Shimmer) over it. To make a border I used a small stamp from Crafty Individuals and went all around the edges. Blend some Peacock Feathers distress ink around the outside. Mount on to a white base card. Quite short and sweet this post, hope you like it.

Any comments welcome, thanks for looking

Sally

Chocolate Baroque colour challenge 2

 

 

 

 

Hi crafter's

 

 

Back for another challenge with Chocolate Baroque. The colour challenge really gets you thinking about colour combinations and opening your mind to different possibilities. The colours for this challenge are blue, red, brown and white. I decided to use my Gelli plate to create the background for this piece. I started with the blue and brown adding in a little white. The  stencil I used was the Trellis from Clarity Stamp. I really just had a play and stopped when I was happy with the result. Ink up a flower from the Fancy Flowers stamp set in black Archival. I coloured the flowers in with Spectrum Noir pencils in shades of red and brown, then highlighted with a white pencil and a white pen. The sentiment  comes from the rose stem script stamp set. This was inked up in black on a scrap of white  card then cut up and glued on to the background. I have attached the panel on to a white Centura Pearl base card which does not show up very clearly on the picture but it gives a nice border down the sides. That's about it for this time, really must get on with the housework! Hope you like it.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sally

Autumn Fashion

Hi crafter's

I've been really busy crafting of late, went through a period where my mojo seemed to have left me, and now just not enough time to do all the things I have in my mind. I had to get this card done for the Crafty Individuals challenge though because it will be closing soon. The theme this time is Autumn Fashion. The colours I have used are wild honey, rusty hinge, barn door and bundled sage. To start I stamped the lady in black ink, stamping a mask at the same time. Cover her over. The maple leaf is a stencil by Clarity Stamp, you get the iny and the outy which is really useful. Start with the leaf to the left of the lady, hold the stencil in place and ink through wild honey with cut n dry foam. Put the cut out piece over the leaf and move the stencil over. Use barn door next. Repeat this until all the leaves are in place. Now stamp in the leaves with the same colour ink for a tone on tone look, I used the flourish stamp and one of the collage stamps. You will need to mask off again as before. Take the mask off the lady and colour in with bundled sage. Ink up the words Paris and London from the Ladies Boudoir stamp set and stamp as shown. To finish use a fine liner pen in a matching colour to drawing stitches around the leaves, Mount on to a white base card. That's all for this one. Hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Feminine

Hi crafter's

This is going to be my entry to the Clarity stamp challenge which this time is Feminine. I have used my favourite colour combination for this design, antique linen, bundled sage, victorian velvet and weathered wood. To create the panel I masked it off with copier paper and coloured it in with cut n dry foam. Colour randomly then ink up the smaller flourish in weathered wood and stamp over the panel, it does not matter if it is not perfect. To add a little texture I made some bead medium, you can buy this but it is quite expensive. Mix a little Cosmic Shimmer clear texture paste with some small beads and spread little bits on the panel, I also sprinkled on some diamond glitter. When dry all you see are beads and glitter. Mask off the panel and stamp the flourish in grey, once at the top and once at the bottom. Ink up the sketchy lady using Memento London grey and stamp onto a small piece of white card. Watercolour her in with bundled sage and victorian velvet distress inks. Create a background by stamping the small lamp post and masking to make a scene. After colouring in the lamp I dabbed on the texture paste and added glitter Attach the topper with foam pads placing over one side. Stamp the words love and cherish as shown. Mount on to a white base card. All done! That's it for this time. 

Thanks for looking

Sally

Flying high

Hi crafter's

This is another card I made for my sons birthday. He loves all the old planes so I used a set of stamps from Hobby Art. Apart from the stamps I used a stencil by Creative Expressions called Clock Elements. So to start I decided where to put my planes by holding the stencil in place and looking for spaces to use. Then stamp in black ink. At the same time make a mask for each of the planes and cover. Tape  the stencil down and colour the background with blue and red inks, I have used distress inks. To add some texture spread Cosmic Shimmer clear Texture Paste in the corners, take off the stencil and wash. Leave the paste to dry. When totally dry take off the masks and colour in the planes. I used a little Bundled Sage distress ink watered down slightly. The targets were done in the blue and red used for the background. Put the stencil back in place and go around the edges of the clock with more colour to make it really stand out. The white spaces left by the stencil were just the right size for Sam Poole's Vintage Alphabet stamps. To highlight these a went round the edge first with a black fine liner pen then with a red one. To make it all balance I drew round the design in the bottom right hand corner. Attach to a red base card....all done!

That's all for now, thanks for looking

Sally

Under the Sea

Hi crafter's

I made this card a while ago for my sons 16th birthday, he always loved going to aquariums so the fish seemed perfect. This fish is by Designs by Ryn and it is quite a large stamp, perfect for colouring in. The first thing I did was to emboss a piece of white card with an embossing folder called Deep Sea Diver by Couture creations, it gives the impression of looking through to the fish. Ink up the fish with black Archival and stamp in the bottom centre and also stamp on to a post-it note to make a mask, cover the fish. Lay a piece of scrap paper down on the inside edge of the frame, ink up the fish and stamp so that it looks like it is moving out of sight. Ink up the coral in Lettuce and masking the bottom inside edge stamp along the bottom. I coloured my fish in with Spectrum Noir pencils using a variety of blues and purples. The background was coloured in with blue ink, leave some paler areas to give some light. I inked up some bubbles from a woodware set of stamps and coloured them white, put some glossy accents on top. To make the embossing stand out I blended some turquoise ink with cut n dry foam then went over the top with gilding wax. Mount on to slightly larger white card to frame. The base card I used is a turquoise colour which is unusual for me. I embossed the left hand side with an embossing folder called Fretboard. Pick up a little bit of white gesso on a dry baby wipe and swipe over the embossing to highlight. I stuck the fish design in place and personalised. That's all for this time.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Add some glitter

Hi crafter's

I have made this card for the Lavinia stamps challenge. I used the honeysuckle stamp which is one of my favourites. I started by stamping the honeysuckle repeatedly in the right hand corner in black ink (Archival), then coloured in with Promarkers. I used  Vanilla, Pastel Pink and Dusky Pink for a very soft look and Tea Green with Soft Green for the leaves. Add a few extra dots in lilac around the flowers. Ink up the small star stamp in purple and dot in between the flowers. Next colour around the edges in Wild Honey with a brush, then lay the dots stencil by That Special Touch down and go over the edges again. Still holding down the stencil ink through, then emboss with some crystal powder for a glittery look. Ink up some butterflies in black and stamp around the flowers. Die cut a heart shape and stick in the left hand corner. Make a bow with some pink ribbon and attach to the heart. Apply some glue to a faux brad and cover in crystal glitter, stick in the centre of the ribbon. Stick some of the glitter on the tops of the flowers with a Quickie glue pen. Mount om to a white base card. That's all for this card, hope you like it/

Thanks for looking

Sally

Christmas in July

Hi crafter's

I have made this card for the Indigoblu challenge, as the title says it's Christmas in July. I used the Ickle Christmas Tree stamp for my main image. The background was made with the Gelli plate. I do like icy colours for Christmas so I used various blues. To begin I used some dark blue acrylic paint applied with a brayer, lay a dots stencil from That Special Touch over the paint then copier paper. Rub over with your hand or the brayer then remove the paper and stencil. Place your card on the Gelli plate, rub over as before then take a print. Next put some turquoise paint on the plate as before, put the clocks stencil by Creative Expressions over the paint then the copier paper. Take a print. To build up more texture put some pale blue paint on the plate. This time I used sequin waste, as it's not very wide I did the top and bottom separately, use the copier paper to dab some of the paint off then take a print. Place the Paper Doilie stencil by Mr Huey in the bottom right hand corner and gently colour through the stencil with Denim ink, this stencil is quite delicate so be careful. The next thing I did was stamp the tree on to the background with Flitter glue and used gilding flakes but it just got lost and didn't stand out. So I did the tree again on a piece of white scrap card, die cut a circle. Colour the baubles in blue. When the circle is put in place you can still see some of the gilding flakes but I liked the look so a happy accident! I wanted the look of snow on the card so I embossed acetate with Swiss Dots embossing folder, then wiped white gesso over to fill the holes, wipe off any excess. Die cut a circle to fit and glue over the top of the tree. Run a dark blue promarker pen around the edges to frame. To embellish I used a die cut flourish and some small snowflakes. Apply some glue and glitter. Stick in place and add some gems. That's about it for this time, hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge

Hi crafter's

I made this card a while ago for the Chocolate Baroque challenge but have only just got around to posting it. This challenge is about four set colours, yellow, green, blue and red that have to be used, which I found a nice change from having a theme. For the background I used Scattered Straw and Lettuce. Put some colour down on to a mat and spritz with water, pick up the ink with a piece of white card. Dry with a heat gun. Lay down the quilting mask from That Special Touch, ink up a make-up sponge with lettuce and dab through the stencil. Remove the stencil and lay a piece of copier paper along one of the stitch lines. Ink up the sponge again and drag some ink from the paper out, not too far though. Repeat along all the lines to give a more 3D look. Using some of the small elements from the Haberdashery set stamp on the background using the same colours. In the top right hand corner I used a leaf stencil from That Special Touch again. Rather than using ink to colour I used clear texture paste from Cosmic Shimmer mixed with a little mica powder. Leave to dry. In the mean time stamp one of the dressmakers mannequin's on the left hand side and colour in the stand. Stamp the mannequin again on to some scrap card and colour in the body, cut out the body only. Stamp the pin cushion and thimbles then colour and cut out. All my colouring in was done with pencils. Shape using a bone folder and attach with pinflair glue. Add some glitter glue to the lace for some nice sparkle. Swipe the lettuce ink pad around the edges then attach to a white base card. That's it for this time hope you like it. 

Thanks for looking

Sally

Riding the current

Hi crafter's

When I saw this turtle stamp it reminded me of the Finding Nemo film where the turtles were riding the current, hence the title. The first thing I did was to swipe distress inks in shades of blue in a wavy line, not using too much dark blue. Ink up the turtle in black archival stamping three times masking where needed. To colour them in I used Inktense watercolour pencils. The thing I like about them is they are permanent when dry so you can go over the top adding more colour. I used blues and turquoise for the shell with a little dark purple, with light and dark brown for the rest of the body. with a touch of turquoise. I went over with a damp paint brush after each addition of colour, when dry adding more colour. Along the top and bottom of the inky waves I added some dots with distress markers in shades of blue. To finish I run a metallic blue marker around the edges before mounting on to a white base card. The turtle is one of the stamps from the Designs by Ryn range so I will enter this into the monthly draw.

I hope you like it, thanks for looking

Sally

At the ballet

Hi crafter's

I bought the ballerina stamp in the last sale because it reminded me of my own dance classes and how excited we were to start pointe work (painful though!). My only problem was I didn't want all silhouette dancers. I will explain how I did this a little later. First I attached the woodland stencil then stamped the  front two ballerina's using versamark ink and embossing with clear powder. Now ink the ballerina again using a black ink, stamp on to some scrap paper before putting the image in place. Do this three times, in the middle and to either side. Press quite firmly if stamping over the stencil to ensure a complete image. To colour the background I used distress inks in weathered wood, tattered rose and wild honey. Gradually build up the colour, starting with tattered rose and wild honey keeping weathered wood for around the sides. Use a sponge to deepen the colour at the edges. When satisfied take off the stencil. Now to deal with the embossed dancers. Turn your iron on to hot and no steam, have a piece of copier paper to hand. Place the paper over the embossing and iron over the top, you will see an image appear on the paper. Take a clean part of the paper and repeat until all the embossing powder has been removed, it will feel very smooth to touch and will be back to white card again. To colour in I used the Spectrum Noir pencils (love all pencils but really enjoy using these ones). Start with a light blue sweeping out from the waist line to create the skirt and bodice of the tutu, repeat this with darker blues until the tutu has real depth. I didn't bother doing hair just used a flesh coloured pencil to define the head, arms and legs, add some light pink to help add shape. Take a grey pencil and shade under the tutu and under their feet to ground them.
Lay the squared honeycomb stencil in the corner and wipe over some grunge paste, repeat in the opposite corner then leave to dry. Ink up the tall reeds with lettuce ink and stamp on each side, fill in the middle with a grasses stamp. Using the foliage stamp from garden elements, stamp along the top. Colour in the reeds with a green pencil. Place the now clean honeycomb stencil down on the edge and blend stonewashed ink over to give a bit of interest to the background. Blend the blue ink all around the edges going over the grunge paste building up the colour, finish with a little black. To finish I stamped over the grunge paste using the music stamp in stonewashed to add a bit more detail, mount on to white card.
I am entering this card in to the Clarity challenge Anything Goes.

That's all for this time, hope you like it. Any comments are very welcome.

Thanks for stopping by

Sally

Flight of fancy

Hi crafter's

This card is going to be my entry to the Clarity challenge. I made this card for my father-in-laws birthday. I started with some Clarity card stamped with the balloon embossed with copper bronze lustre powder. The background was made by stencilling part of the swirly stencil with stonewashed ink. In the space left in the middle I made the clouds still using the stonewashed ink. Then highlighted the clouds with wild honey ink. Next I inked up the small balloon and stamped on the right side. To create the foreground I used one of the grasses stamps and one of the stamps from the english garden elements. These were stamped in denim ink.  Using a blue fine liner pen I drew in some birds. To finish mount onto a base white card. A quick card this time, hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

All in the words

Hi crafter's

I've been a bit lazy with my blog just recently, but I have done my entry for the Clarity stamp challenge which is all about the words. I started by stamping the woven silk lady then masking her off. I then placed the aperture stencil over the top. The inside space was then very simply coloured in with inks and masks to create the scene. The colours I used are stonewashed, denim, lettuce and peeled paint. I used the leafy trailer stamp to give the impression of plants growing on the hills. Once I was satisfied with the background I put the inner mask in place and smudged ink outwards to leave a very soft outline. It did leave a white line which highlights very nicely. Next I inked up the foliage stamp from the garden elements in weathered wood, then stamped in the left hand corner in second generation ink. Now ink up the garden plants stamp in weathered wood and stamp at the bottom in first generation ink. I coloured the lady in with promarkers then over the top with Spectrum Noir pencils to intensify the depth. To finish ink up the words in black ink and stamp to one side as shown. Lastly I run a grey promarker around the edge to frame, then mounted on to a white base card. That's all for this time, thanks for looking.

Happy crafting

Sally

Monochrome

Hi crafter's

I haven't been able to blog for a while our computer has gone wrong, but as my daughter is home from uni I've borrowed her laptop. I thought I would quickly do my entry for the clarity stamp challenge. It's all about monochrome and as I like the colour blue water immediately came to mind. I saw this wave on the Chocolate Baroque website, it was a tag by the very talented Glenda. I have tried to create this many times with varying degrees of success. This time I think it works. I used two colours of ink, denim and stonewashed. Put some ink on to a craft mat and mix with a little water. Take a piece of white card and starting on the bottom sweep the ink along and upwards, repeat until it looks like a big wave. Now use the stonewashed ink in the centre of the wave. Because I have used Adirondack inks don't over work it. Ink up the shell stamp from the design club with denim, using second and third generation ink stamp along the bottom and a little up the side. Ink up the word water in denim and stamp as shown. Cut a moon mask from a post-it note and use the hole that's left. Using a sponge and denim ink colour the moon but leave a little white showing. To create the foam I used some white acrylic paint applied with a dry paint brush using a stippling motion, the curve can really be accentuated this way. To finish blend the denim ink around the edge. Sweep a little ink across the moon and draw some birds with a blue fine liner pen. Mount on to a 6" square white base card. That's all this time hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

g

Flower power

Hi crafter's

It's time for the Clarity stamp challenge and it's all about flowers. I bought the fuchsia stamps in the latest members sale. I also bought a wooden jewellery box and furniture from Crafty Individuals. The two together will be perfect for this project. To prepare the box I painted it all over inside and out with white gesso. When dry I painted it with a cream colour acrylic paint for the base colour. I used a pearl acrylic in pink next just sweeping in from the outside edges not covering the whole area. When all the painting has been done ink up the small fuchsia in black Archival  and stamp on to the lid twice. Draw a stem with a black liner pen to join up the flowers. Stamp the fuchsia bud in place then join up with the pen as before.To colour in I used Twinkling H2O's in various shades of pink finishing with a wine colour. Add green for the leaves and stems. Ink up the music stamp in Rueberry Adirondack, stamp randomly over the box lid in second generation ink. Take the hearts and leaves stencil and lay a heart in the middle of the lid. Ink up a piece of sponge with rueberry and dab inside the heart then around the outside, it doesn't matter if you catch some of the leaves.Still with the ink and sponge add some deeper colour to the corners and the edges. Do this around the sides too. The verse I used is Count your garden. I stamped a line of the verse on each side in black Archival. The inside is lined with thin card which has been stamped with the fuchsia stamps and stenciled to make a master board. This is then cut to fit the sides and lid, the bottom is lined with pink felt. The handle and feet were rubbed with golden light gilding wax. Glue the feet and handle on, I used a hot glue gun for extra strength. I'm really pleased how this turned out so glad I bought two of these little boxes, maybe an oriental one next. That's all for now, hope you like it.

Thanks for looking

Sally

love and romance

Hi crafter's

It's been a while since my last post but I have finally got round to making my entry to the Clarity stamp challenge. It's all about love and romance, so I decided to use the lovebirds. The first thing I did was to stamp the universal framer in black then the birds in the middle. I made the pole they are sitting on a little longer with a fine liner pen. Across one corner I drew a line with my pen then went back over it to make a wiggly line. Ink up the leaf from the Birdcage set and stamp them near to the line, draw lines to attach them. Ink up the musical score stamp in grey ink then dab with some kitchen towel and stamp randomly over the card. To colour in the birds and leaves I used promarkers then added shading with prismacolor pencils. Colour the frame in green and orange to compliment the birds. Using adirondack inks citrus and peach bellini colour the background blending the two colours together. Ink up the words cherish and love in black and stamp as shown. To give a bit of texture I used an embossing folder just over the edges then rubbed gold gilding wax over the raised design. Run a black marker pen around the edges. The background paper was made with the gelli plate from a previous afternoon of experimenting. Everything I make goes into a box to be used later. The colours fitted nicely with the topper. I run the black marker around the edges as before. My base card was a piece of kraft card for a change.

That's all for this time, thanks for looking.

Happy crafting

Sally

Valentine

Hi crafter's

I am going to enter this card into the Craft Stamper challenge, you have to use the ombre technique somewhere. I have used the Romantica stamp set by Chocolate Baroque for this card. I started with a piece of white card and stamped the bottle on the table stamp with black ink in the centre. Cover with a mask then colour it with Adirondack sandal ink. I inked up the verse with Versamark ink and stamped around the edge then embossed with clear powder. To get the ombre look I used Adirondack inks, sandal, hazelnut and distressed vintage photo. I started by adding more sandal then went on to hazelnut starting at the top working my way down. Keep adding colour until it's dark enough. Now use the vintage photo to darken the very top. Buff over the words to remove the ink from the embossing, they stand out much better now. Take the mask off and colour the central image in red ink with a sponge, adding more intense colour around the table and bottle etc. Layer on to first red card then kraft card. The base card is cream coloured. Stamp the sentiment on to white card and colour red then layer as before. Attach as shown. Quite a simple card but I do like the colours, might give this to my husband for valentines day.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Beatrice and the Gelli plate

Hi crafter's

Two posts in one day, I've been busy playing and not blogging! I have had my Gelli plate for a while but haven't really used my papers to any purpose. So this for once is a finished card. I have used craft acrylics and not artist acrylics for the background. I used Royal Langnickel Crafter's choice and Americana. To start I stamped Beatrice in black Archival ink in the centre of some 7" x 7" white card, now cover this with a post-it note. Now brayer some neutral coloured paint over the Gelli plate and lay the flourish stencil down making sure it makes good contact, then lift off. Place the card on to the Gelli plate, I normally use the brayer rather than my hand to take a print. Next brayer some light blue paint and repeat with the flourish stencil turning it 90 degrees before taking the next print. Brayer some purple just in one corner then dab over with some large bubble wrap moving the colour further towards the middle, this will blend the edge a little. Lay the card down again and take another print. To colour the centre image I used Adirondack ink and a make-up sponge, I was looking for a soft blended feel and was not too worried about the lines. To add shading I used Prismacolor pencils. To finish stamp the verse No matter... in black ink then cut it in to strips, run a black ink pad around the edges. Arrange the words down the left hand side and when happy with the arrangement stick down. Cut the piece to size and mount on to the base card mine is a 6" x 6". That's all this time hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by

Sally

New beginnings

Hi crafter's

This card is going to be my entry for the Clarity stamp challenge which is New beginnings. I wasn't quite sure what to do until I had one of those discount leaflets from a supermarket. The offers were for the Chinese new year and it is going to be the year of the horse. This was good as I had just purchased the galloping horse. Also my son is studying Chinese Mandarin at school so he could help me with the words. The background was made directly on to the white base card. Using a stencil and inks ( juniper Adirondack and bamboo leaves Memento) start with the lightest colour then add the darker colour in some of the corners. I wanted this to give the impression of a screen. Next I put black peel offs around the edge where the stenciling finished, crossing over at the corners. Stamp the flourish from the oriental stamp set in black ink twice in opposite corners. To start the topper stamp the horse in black ink then the blossom branch and finally the lanterns. Make the background scene with the hills and mountains masks. Take some Promarkers and add some dots following the undulations of the land. Make the sky with the clouds mask and blue ink. Colour in the blossom with Promarkers, pastel pink and dusky pink with a little gold for the centre then light green for the leaves. Stamp the lanterns on a scrape piece of white card and colour in (I used Prismacolor pencils for this) using red and yellow. Ink up the flourish in black again and stamp over the long lantern picking what part you want as the pattern. Cut out the lantern leaving off the hook and tassels. Shape them a little and stick down with dimensional glue. Use the black peel offs to frame the topper. Attach it to the base card at a slight angle. Stamp the double tile from the Letterbox set in black. I then carefully copied the characters my son had written down for me, it says The Year of the Horse. Ink up the solid tile with Versamark and glaze with clear embossing powder. Cut out then edge with red. Cut a piece of black card and mount the tiles. Attach at the top in the centre. That's it card finished!

 I hope you like it, any comments are welcome.

Thanks for looking

Sally

Small icon

Hi crafter's

This is going to be my entry for the Indigoblu challenge which is about your favourite stamp. Mine is the Wild Meadow, especially the flourish, which I find myself turning to all the time. I recently bought a small wooden icon from Crafty Individuals and was looking for a way to use it, this project seemed the perfect thing. The first thing I did was cover the wood with a layer of white gesso when dry paint over the top with some neutral acrylic paint, I used Crafters Choice in almond and Americana in antique white. Paint over the back front, and sides. To add more interest to the background I used a stencil and Archival ink (french ultramarine). Ink up the flourish from the stamp set in black Archival and stamp on the front of the icon down the bottom. Ink up the words in black and stamp on the left side. Next use the flitter glue on the flourish and stamp at the bottom on both sides not going up as high as the black, add some mega flakes as usual, I used Morris dance. Repeat this with the butterfly stamp, the one I used came from the Craft Stamper mag. Now turning to the back,

to create depth I used a  blue flourish I had left on my gelli plate (I'm usually working on a few things at a time so this was a bit of a cross over), I wanted to see what it would print like on a different surface and it worked well. Now using a stencil and some dark blue ink add colour just around the outside and on all the edges, blend the ink without the stencil around the front and back of the icon. Dab some flitter glue on to the small anemone corner and stamp twice on each side as above, add morris dance flake and burnish. Dab some glue around the edges, it wants to be hit and miss, then use the flakes again. To make the whole thing look a bit worn put white acrylic paint on your mat, using a fan brush load up with the paint and swipe over the icon touching here and there. That's all for this time, hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by

Sally