For my wonderful Mum...

Hello.  Yes its me again already.  I've really been looking forward to blogging this project which I've made for my wonderful Mum with some of my newest Claritystamps and trying out embossing paste with a stencil (thanks Maria Simms, this was a new technique for me, and I love it!)  This is going to be a long one, but I hope you'll think it was worth it!

I wanted to make something a bit different for her, and started by covering a cardboard frame with some lovely Graphic 45 papers that I had in my stash.

Obviously I needed to tone them down a bit as this was only going to be a background.  I did this by sponging on some white acrylic paint over some areas and adding colour and depth in others with archival inks.

 

 

The next step was to add some texture with embossing paste.  I mixed in a little bit of mica powder to add a hint of colour.  I didn't worry about getting the paste too smooth and perfect, as I wanted to achieve a distressed and weathered effect.

 

 

Once the embossing paste was dry I added a bit more shade and definition with archival inks.  Next I used my Clarity Trellis stencil again, sponging through it with Versamark, for a random effect.  I embossed with sticky stuff embossing powder  and then sprinkled on some Glamour Dust glitter. 

 

 

I also added some texture to the paper for the centre of the frame, but I kept this a lot lighter as a background for my stamping.

 

 

First I added in some music score and 2 little birds in the background with archival ink.

 

 

I stamped the snowdrops onto tissue paper and cut them out before sticking down and colouring with distress markers.  You can also see that I stamped and embossed letters from the Word Chains individually to create the word "Mum" 

 

 

I used yellow, blue and a tiny bit of white Angelina Fibre to make the blue tit.

 

 

There was enough left over to make the 2 tiny blue tits.  I used my Tim Holtz dies for the flowers and the birdcage.

 

 

Finished at last!  As I am off to Shrewsbury for a days crafting with Maria Simms tomorrow, I spent a lovely afternoon with Mum, and gave this to her today, so I can share this with you now.  She loves it as I knew she would   If you pop by for a look I'd love to know what you think.  Till next time.  Xxx

 

 

 

 

Its been a long time...

Hello.  Its been too long since my last post.  I do have some completed projects to show you, but they're still under wraps.  In the meantime, here is a simple card using the beautiful Claritystamp Garden Heart.

 

Inspired by Barbara Gray's New Design Club project with the All you need is Love  Heart stamp, I created a brayered background with Worn Lipstick distress ink and Lettuce Adirondack.  I did try a couple using the trick with the cling film, but wasn't happy with the results I achieved.  In the end I used some masking fluid, created some speckles by flicking ink with a toothbrush and added extra shading with my stencil brushes and then a blending tool. 

 

I stamped the heart in Slate Adirondack, then added some touches of colour with promarkers.  I matted it onto some grey card, then a bit of ribbon and a little charm is all that's needed to complete this simple card.

 

Hopefully it won't be as long until the next time.  Xxx  

Edelweiss

Hello again.  This time I thought I'd just share a quick card made with this month's Clarity New Design Club stamp.  I was inspired by a card we made at Maria Simms' Shrewsbury workshop.  Maria gave us some great tips on pattern building, so I thought I'd give it another go with a different stamp.

Using Versamark ink, I first stamped the vertical and horizontal stems, then applied the Perfect Pearls:  yellow for the centre of the flowers, white for the petals and green for the stems and leaves.  Once I'd wiped away the excess with a tissue, and I could see where I'd already stamped, I was able to stamp the diagonal stems into position and dust again with Perfect pearls as before.  And that's it!  I think sometimes less can be more.

 

Simply matted onto silver mirri board, the understated look of this card could make it suitable for a number of different occasions;  even a sympathy card.

 

I'd love to hear what you think;  your comments always inspire and encourage me.  Till next time. Xxx

  

 

Flower power

Well its time for me to blog my entry for this months Claritystamp challenge.  I decided that I really wanted to take this opportunity to capture a real psychedelic Sixties flower power vibe.

My first step was to cut out a mask from copy paper.  I stamped the large Gerbera through the mask using Black Soot Distress Ink.

 

Next step was to doodle borders with a black micron pen and add the sentiment.

 

Now for the transformation.  I coloured in the gerberas with promarkers in vibrant shades of pink, yellow, orange, green, blue and lilac.  Hope you have your sunglasses ready! 

 

To finish, I just mounted it very simply onto black and pink, then added a yellow flower button.  Groovy baby!!!

 

I'd love to know what you think, so I'd really appreciate it if you left a comment.  Thanks for looking.  Till next time.  Xxx 

 

Paris or Provence?

For this card, the beautiful Claritystamp Sketchy Lady will make the trip of a lifetime.  Geographically impossible maybe, but a trip that dreams are made of.  Mine anyway...

 

I started by stamping Sketchy lady in black archival and covering her with a Clarity mask.  Then I cut out a large moon mask and put the Paris skyline into place, before brayering in some sky with Stonewashed Adirondack.  Next, I covered the sky and used Dusty Concord Distress Ink and a tiny bit of Black Adirondack to shade the buildings. 

 

Now to start to add in the fields of lavender.  I used one of the Remountable Patterns and the New Design Club Cow Parsley Stamp with Lettuce Adirondack and Dusty Concord Distress Ink.

 

 

Here you can see all the lavender stamped into place, and some shade added to the foreground. 

 

 

I used Slate and Black Adirondacks to add some shade around the Sketchy lady before removing the mask and using the Dusty Concord Distress Ink to paint her dress.  Simply add a sentiment...  et, voila!  Would anyone like to join us on our trip?  You'd be more than welcome.  Till next time.  Xxx