Saturday 31 May 2014

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Evenin' All.
 
I've made this card today for the Claritystamp challenge
 "It's All About The Words"
 
 


I have used:
Clarity paper
 Treescape Stencil
 Silver Shoon verse stamp
 small Birch Leaves stamp
Black Memento
Versamark
Silver Embossing Powder
 
First cut the paper down to the same size as the stencil.
Cut a circle out of a post-it note for the moon and place it top right.
Load up a speed-ball brayer with black memento ink and colour the top half of the paper
 (I had to reload several times).
 Flick small amounts of water at the paper and then blot to get the 'stars'.


Remove your moon mask.
  Dab Versamark ink all over the stencil, lay it face down over your paper
and then run it through an ebosser to transfer the ink.
Sprinkle with silver embossing powder and heat
 

 
As you can tell I was a bit slow doing this so the result is a bit patchy!
I coloured in some of the missing bits with a Versamark pen and added more embossing powder.
 
 
That's better.
 
But then I thought "I wonder what it would look like with gilding flake instead?"  
So I started again...
 
 
I replaced the Versamark with Flitterglu,
and silver embossing powder with silver flakes,
et voila...
 
 
Aarggh. It's more patchy than before, and there's gilding flake EVERYWHERE.
Back to Plan A I think.
 
I cut down a smaller piece of Clarity paper (5x8.5cm),
stamped the verse on with black memento ink and then
stamped around the edge with the small birch leaves
 (alternating first and second generation ink)

 
After a bit of trimming and mounting on black/white card...
 
 
 It's looking nothing like I imagined it when I started, but kind of liking the distressed look.
 
 
 I finished off with a Sizzix leaf cut from silver paper.
It was much too bright and shiny, so I went over it with sandpaper and now it looks the part.
 
Well, it's tea time again, so that's all for now.
 My better half is kindly cooking us pizza.
Nom nom.
 

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Beyond Words

Hi Peeps. Thought I'd have a go at gilding this morning.
 
I wanted to use the words that came in the free IndigoBlu set from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine last month but didn't want to use them as a block, so I cut the stamp up.
 
The heart has been stamped and clear embossed onto white card, then coloured with Distress Inks. The words are stamped using Flitter glue and I've pressed on Chariots of Fire mega flake
 

 
Entered in the IndigoBlu Blog Challenge which ends today.
 
Oh well, I'd better get off to work now, catch up with you soon x

Saturday 10 May 2014

Catch-up Part 2

More of my samples from our Cardmaking Club,
these are all from this year (most recent first).

Playing with Stencils


1 - Vaseline and Distress inks 



Thank you to Ali Reeve for this fabulous technique.
Lightly dab through the mask with Vaseline on some Cut and Dry foam, blend over with Distress Inks and then stamp the verse over the top.

 Verse by Clarity Stamps, stencil by Pronty


 2 - Texture Paste



Place the stencil over some patterned paper and tape down with low tack masking tape. Make sure each edge is masked (I also masked off part of the stencil as I only wanted one cage)
Spread texture paste through the stencil thinly with a pallet knife.
Remove tape and stencil (wash immediately).
Once the paste is dry, mount onto navy card then a white card blank.
The bird is stamped onto the same patterned paper, coloured in with Promarkers and cut out.
(The bird cage stencil is from The Crafters Workshop, the bird stamp is by Hobby Art,
alphabet by Docrafts Forever Friends)

Flags and bunting   

Horseshoe stamp is by Lili of the Valley

 Owl stamps by Hobby Art
 Owl stamp from Joanna Sheen

Stamping into UTEE

 
Owl and foliage stamps from Stamps Away

 

I stamped the owl onto some patterned paper (from Robot Rust digikit) and highlighted the eyes, beak and talons with a white gel pen.


Colour some mount board with brown Distress Ink and then cover with Versamark ink. Sprinkle with UTEE and heat (do this twice). After the second layer sprinkle metallic embossing powders around the edges and heat again. Do one final layer of Versamark/UTEE and heat until you can see it moving. While it is still runny, stamp into it with a foliage stamp inked with up silver ink.


 This is one is a similar technique but I have coloured in the seahorse with Promarkers.
For the 'seaweed' going up the left hand side I've used the Tattered Leaves die again.
To colour them, dab blue and yellow Distress Inks onto your craft mat, spritz with water and then swirl the leaves around in it. When dry, dab Distress Stickles over them with your finger.

The seahorse and seaweed stamps are by Sheena Douglass.

Teepee cards



Thank you to Quick Cards Made Easy magazine for the instructions

The shape just screams out 'pyramid', doesn't it?
For the brick pattern I used an Inkylicious stamp with Antique Linen Distress Ink.
I don't know who the stamp is by, I bought it second-hand without the packaging.


Fishing Boy stamp by Lili of the Valley
 Greeting stamps by Marion Emberson, flower stamp from Inkadinkado,
papers by Prima

That's all folks (for now). I'm off to have my tea.
Hmmm, Chinese take-away sounds very tempting

Friday 9 May 2014

A Flutter of Butterflies

Morning Peeps.
 
These are my versions of a card shown on Create and Craft by Nikki Hall with the Tatty Twinkles stamps (thank you for the fabulous idea).
I've used Inkylicious, Docrafts Urban and Crafters Companion butterflies
 
 
For my masks I stamped all the butterflies first onto copy paper and cut them out, then put zig 2 way glue on the back and let it dry (it becomes repositionable once clear). 
 
I then stamped the butterflies straight onto an 8x8 card with Memento Rich Cocoa, masking them off and overstamping as I went. So far, so good, but I decided to stamp the greeting, swirls and flowers onto the card before I spent an hour colouring them in with Promarkers (just in case I mucked up the stamping).
 
It turned out so well I had another go with different colours:

 
Not bad, but the colours in the first one are more me.
 
I took them both into work so they could pick one for Fi's 60th Birthday card and they decided on the second one. So it doesn't matter that I stamped my logo upside down on the back of the first card :D
 
That's all for today, so it just remains for me to say
 
Happy Birthday Fi x
 

Thursday 8 May 2014

Catching Up





Crumbs, it has been a long time, hasn’t it? I must try to get back in the habit !
 
I’d just like to share photos of some of my favourite pieces with you from our Cardmaking Club sessions last year. Sorry for the explanations being a bit sparse, if you've any questions please ask x 
 

Imagination Decoupage Stamps

Coloured with promarkers and decoupaged, mounted onto red pearlescent card that has been embossed
 

No decoupage here, I heat embossed the outline with gold embossing powder then coloured in with pearly paints
 

Coloured with promarkers again and decoupaged,
layered onto tracing paper to lighten up the background a little

 

 Alcohol Inks on Acetate 

 As seen on TV!
I forgot to photograph this one before I sent it in to 'In the Classroom with Barbara Gray',
 so I snapped it during the show.
(all stamps by Clarity Stamps)
 
(Poppy Meadow stamp by Inkylicious)
 

Colouring tags and paper flowers with distress inks

 
 Love the way the ink pooled in between the grasses
- they were embossed with clear powder first
 

4 Panel Cards

Fabulous inspiration from club member Kristi
 
My effort - no comparison, but I'm happy with it

 

Tunnel cards

 (most stamps are Crafty Impressions)
 
(Ted is a Lili of the Valley stamp)

 
 
More to follow from this year's sessions ...