Always Flowers

Gosh, is it Friday already?

Am I ready for the weekend?  Well, sort of .....

I recently made this card to accompany an ATCoin swap arrive at its destination safely.

A simple stamped design on white card,

coloured with Inktense watercolour blocks and finished with dots of a co-ordinating Gelly Roll pen.

I like to make two ATCoins for a swap, although only one will be sent;

that way if the first goes astray, I have another ready in the wings to replace it.

Sometimes it's hard to choose which one to send and which to keep.  

As these were both coloured with water colours, the shading on the flowers isn't quite the same.

I added dots of gold Liquid Pearls to the centres of each flower for a little bit of extra dimension.

Stamps

 Carabelle Studio - "There are always flowers"

Craft Stamper magazine - freebie

Thank you for coming back today, and for your encouraging comments.

They always put a smile on my face.

Happy Crafting!

  

Framed Elegance

I was recently offered a spot on the

Catchy Crafts Creative Team 

which I was most excited about, especially when a lovely box of goodies 

turned up at my door.

  "Framed Elegance" 

is the first of my projects to be published.

The thought behind this project, was to create a modern version

of a miniature portrait from 100 years ago. 

 

I cut the Medallion Frame from black card and again from bronze glitter paper, 

taking out the centre from the black, 

which allowed the glitter frame to sit snug within the black card. 

A narrow glitter border was added before adhering to another black mat.

I stamped up 'Les Chateaux de la Loire', coloured in the elegant girl,

cutting an oval shape around her [again with the Medallion Frame]

which allows her to sit perfectly within the glitter frame.

A smidgen of a co-ordinating Gelly Roll pen adds some shimmer to her bodice and tiara.

Materials

Crafts 4 U - Medallion Frame #10183

Crafts 4 U - Glitter Card

 

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - Les Chateaux de la Loire

 

You can see what the other Creative Team members have been creating here.

You can find all the materials to re-create this card at

Catchy Crafts

located in Hornsby, NSW

or go to the website www.catchycrafts.com.au

 Happy Crafting!

 

I Spy

Yesterday, my crafting buddy and I went to a local scrapbooking store

where we played in an art journalling class.

While we waited for everyone to arrive, we gessoed a double page in our journals.

Using three gelatos (in our own choice of colour),

we scribbled them randomly, then smooshed them around smoothing out the colour

with baby wipes.

Washi tape was added to the top of the pages.

A bit of spraying, a bit of stamping, a bit of colouring - there was lots going on!

Alice is looking a bit ghostly, don't you think?

Look at this enormous flower - perfect for a caterpillar to munch on.

Don't hurry though, there is plenty of time to finish off these pages!

 Stamps
Carabelle Studios - Alice in Wonderland

Challenges
www.lostcoastportaltocreativity.blogspot.no/2018/01/challenge-45-i-am-woman.html

And this afternoon, that is what I've done - finished placing and glueing the flowers.

Happy Crafting!

 

Les Chateaux

It's forecast to be another HOT day in Sydney today,

with temperatures in the 40Cs, phew!

  I think the air-con might be getting a good workout later in the day!

In the meantime ......

..... I've been having a play with a new addition to my stamp stash.

Using my favourite cardstock, Knight White (280gsm), I stamped the image in 'jet black' Archival Ink.  I wanted to have a watercolour background, so created a wash with Inktense Blocks and water until I got the required pastel consistency of colour.

I stamped the image a second time so that I could fussy cut the girl, putting foam dots under her skirt to give a 2D look. 
 She was also coloured the same way as the background with Inktense Blocks.

Although it's hard to see in the photo, her crown and dress bodice are coloured with a red Gelli Roll pen 
which adds a lovely shimmer.

I looked through my stash of stamps for an appropriate sentiment to put on the bottom left corner, but alas, I just couldn't find what I wanted, so opted for a black sticker instead.

A black mat was added before adhering to a folded white card.

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "Les Chateaux de la Loire" 

If you are in Australia ..... stay cool; 

if you are somewhere else in the world, I hope the weather is being kind to you.

Happy Crafting!

  

Thank you

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to start again

and go in a totally different direction?  Yesterday was one of those days!

On a brighter note, today started with a walk/talk with a friend

and has been quiet, but good. 

 I always think talking things through with a non-judgemental friend who can listen and offer advice is half the battle won!

Anyhow .......

I recently wanted to send a thank you note to an acquaintance

so out came one of my new stamps I acquired at the recent Penrith Papercraft Show.

 

 

I played with my current favourite technique,

Distress Oxide inks and stencil, stamped directly onto the background

and added a bit more ink to the heart, eyes and top feathers.

 A little piece of washi tape for grounding and balance was added.

(I think it looked better in real life than in my photo - oops!)

 

  Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "3 Oiseaux"

PaperArtsy - "JOFY 33"

 

Thanks for coming by today .....

 

Happy Crafting!

  

 

Feet in the Water

Another beautiful day beckons outside,

so first up today is morning tea with my brother and our aunt

at our favourite cafe.

After that ..... it's grocery shopping - ugh!

In the meantime to cheer everyone up,

here is something I made recently for a friend's birthday.

I started with four different Distress Oxide ink colours, blending each one until I was happy with the depth of colour.  A stencil was placed over part of the background and the same colours were dabbed through creating the pattern.

The flamingo was stamped firstly onto the background and again on white cardstock.

He was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut and placed directly over the first image.

The panel was mounted onto folded white cardstock.

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "feet in the water"

Stampendous - "birthday wish"

Stencil

Kaisercraft - Oriental (6"x6") #IT430

Happy Crafting!

 

Angel Gate

Ooh, I'm EXCITED!

I've been published again, this time with a little

off-the-page canvas that I called Angel Gate.

I started by glueing a layer of white tissue paper to the pre-gessoed canvas, then added 'squeezed lemonade', 'mustard seed' and 'fossilized amber' Distress Inks until I was happy with the colour.

A script stamp was added randomly, followed by Modellier Creme through a stencil and allowed to dry.

A chipboard gate was given some finger painting using Silk glaze,

and finished off with crackle accents for added interest.

The angel was coloured with pencils for her skin and hair, and Distress Ink for her dress and wings.

Although you can't see it in the photo, her wings have Wink of Stella shimmer added.

You can find these instructions and lots more, in Issue 5 of Creative Papercraft - out now!

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - 'an angel to love'

I'm off to read all the other projects, so until next time .....

Happy Crafting!

   

 

Elegance meets wonder

Mr Mojo, where are you?

 Who knows where he has got to ... probably sunning himself somewhere exotic!

Thankfully, there are themes popping up everywhere for inspiration,

and with that in mind,

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers have a new theme 
"E is for Elegant"

I started by spritzing plain white card with water,

and then puffing some Ken Oliver Color Burst paints in

Orange and Alizarin Crimson

followed by more spritzing to run the colours a bit more.

 I then set it aside to dry for a while.

I stamped the elegant lady onto white card, adding colour to her skin and hair, 

and fussy cut her

.

I then sat and looked at her trying to decide whether to leave her black & white against the colourful background, or add colour.  I left her on my desk overnight and this morning decided to add variations of blue for contrast - I think she looks better with more colour!

I added touches of metallic blue gel pen to highlight her crown, necklace

and the criss-cross bits on her gown.

I stamped the lady directly onto the background before gluing the cut image on top.  

By doing this, the swirly vine isn't lost. 

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - Woman & Bird

Challenges

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - E is for Elegant

Craft Stamper - Take It Make It Challenge April

Yippee!  I managed without Mr Mojo!!!

I'm sure he'll come home when he sees I did this by myself!  LOL!!!

Happy Crafting!

 

Ice Queen

I know I'm a little slow off the mark, however I would like to wish you all a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I find the week between Christmas and New Year rather uneventful 

and (dare I say?) boring! 

Not that I'm complaining; by the time Christmas Day is over I'm more than ready to vege out and not do anything more then what needs doing - I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way.

On the 2nd January, I headed up the coast to my 'home away from home' for a few days of rest & relaxation.  This has been an annual week away at my BFF's home and I look forward to it each year.  

We craft together, watch movies (mostly Midsomer Murders) and we AWAYS manage to watch "Keeping Mum".  It would have to be one of my favourite movies and I start giggling just at the thought of what is to come.  

This year we also headed further up the coast to Port Stephens with all it's bays and beautiful scenery.  I've never been there before, so we had a very enjoyable day exploring.

This week it's time to get back to a more normal routine, 

which of course, includes my first swap of the year.

The theme is "Ice Queen" and it is to be made on an Index Card.

I started with a layer of gesso as there was writing on the card which I wanted to cover up.  Once the gesso was dry, I added a coat of Silk acrylic paint in Bolivian Blue.  There is also just a hint of purple on the bottom and top corners which was a bit of leftover texture paste tinted with Ken Oliver 'Colour Burst'.

Using Versamark I stamped a snow flake a couple of times and dusted 'Magical' powder paint over the top.  I found the larger pale blue snowflake in my stash and it fitted perfectly with the theme.

I stamped "Woman & Bird" (Carabelle Studio) onto white cardstock, fussy cut her and coloured her with metallic pencils.  She was then glued directly onto the background.  A layer of glitter was added for her to stand on, the title was stamped and the card is finished!

 Happy Crafting!

 

I'll buy you the moon

Good morning!

At ATC Around the World, 

the theme is 'Anything Goes' with an optional 'Sun Moon & Stars'

so I thought I'd have a play with one of my new stamp sets.

I started by using Versamark to stamp the background image and sentiment and clear embossed them.  Using 'salty ocean' and 'faded jeans'  Distress Inks, I blended them together, adding extra colour around the edges.  Any extra ink was wiped off the embossed areas with a tissue.  I then gave the background a quick spritz of water and then dabbed it dry.

I stamped Zinouk on scrap card, coloured him/her with metallic pencils and fussy cut the image.  I then stamped him/her again directly onto the ATC and glued the coloured image on top.

I realise there is no 'sun' on my ATC but hopefully it still fits into this weeks theme.
The sentiment reads "Draw me your dream, I'll buy you the moon"

Challenge

ATC Around the World -  #21 Anything Goes with optional 'sun, moon & stars'

Stamps

Carabelle Studios - Stars Zinouk

Happy Crafting!

R is for Resist

I am honoured as Queen of Snark, to be a guest on this new challenge at 

the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers

'R is for Resist'

I chose a new (and unused) stamp that I bought only recently using the words as a resist on the background.

I stamped the words a number of times over the background using Versamark and clear embossed them.  I then took my piece of card outside as it was a lovely day with no breeze, and spritzed it with Heidi Swap 'Color Shine' sprays in 'Teal', 'Mint Green' and 'Chartreuse'.  Using a tissue, I rubbed over the words to remove the colour from the sprays.

I stamped Alice on white cardstock with 'jet black' Archival Ink and coloured her skin, hair, apron and stockings with Prismacolor pencils, adding shading as needed.  I left her newsprint dress uncoloured.

I popped Alice onto dimensionals to give her a bit more emphasis, however before doing that I cut her legs off and glued them directly onto the background.

The background was given a black mat before attaching to white card

(not pink as it looks in the photo - hmmm .... not sure why that is - oops!).

Stamps

Carabelle Studios - Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

Happy Crafting!

Wedding #1

I was recently asked by my BFF if I could make a couple of wedding cards for her.  Of course, I said "yes" and so I got playing over the weekend.

Without a particular colour specified, I decided to go with classic gold as I don't think you can go too far wrong with either gold or silver for a wedding.

I inked up the stamp using Versamark and embossed it with fine gold embossing powder.

A gold mat was laid under the white and some gold thread was wrapped around both layers which was finished off with a simple knot.

The sentiment was stamped and embossed in the same manner as above.

The insert also had words embossed in gold

[but silly me forgot to take a photo of the inside]. 

As an extra bonus, I added a little gift tag, also gold embossed and with a piece of gold thread attached.

Stamps

Visible Image - heart INKognito

Stampin' Up! - Heard from the Heart

Carabelle Studio - Love

I'll be back again tomorrow with the second card.

Happy Crafting!

Imagine

I decided to play along with some monthly challenges, so last week I got to work in my art journal, getting inky and messy along the way.

There were a few stages to these pages, so stay with me and I'll attempt to do quick step by step photos to show how I got to the finished pages.

Months ago I tried blopping a tea bag onto my pages and once they had finally dried out (note to self, squeeze out the tea bags a bit more) I was left with random beige areas.  So last week I opened my journal to these pages and started adding colour, firstly with turquoise paint through a mini bricks stencil and a feather stencil.

Once that had dried, I applied Distress Crackle Paint [clear rock candy] and waited for it to crackle. I then wiped Silks [emperor's gold and pretty peridot] over the crackles for added effect.

With another stencil, I added random flowers using Viva Modellier Creme [mother of pearl].

Finally I added random butterflies and circles using Viva Facetten-Lack - Croco Crackling Colour [metallic silber] and with bubble wrap added some more background.

A few bits of washi tape were added under the angel and bird, both of which were coloured using Gelly Roll pens, so they were grounded.  They were then fussy cut and popped onto dimensionals.

  

The chipboard letters were coated in Viva Ferro [graphite] and once dried, a light touch of Silks [bolivian blue] was used to highlight them.

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - Woman & Bird

Carabell Studio - An Angel to Love

Tim Holtz - Simple Sayings

Challenges

Craft Stamper - Let's Get Inky

Creative Carte Blanche - Winged Things

Country View Challenges - Crackle

More Than Words - Imagine and Get Messy

Happy Crafting!

Garden Friends

This week's challenge at Wicked Wednesday is

"Garden Friends"

I started by blending 'crushed olive' and 'broken china' Distress Inks for the ground/sky background, with a quick spritz of water to give it some interest.  Next the mushroom garden was stamped directly onto the ATC and another stamped onto scrap white cardstock.  The 'shrooms were individually cut out, coloured with Prismacolor pencils and glued back into position.

This cute little person was also stamped onto cardstock, coloured and popped up on dimensionals.  Every garden needs a butterfly, so one came fluttering past just at the right moment!

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "Zinouk des marais"

Carabelle Studio - "Zinouk du sous bois"

Challenge

Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge - #204 "Garden Friends"

Happy Crafting!

Pretty as a Picture

Sometimes a challenge is indeed a challenge!  

Looking at my stash of Stampotique stamps I wondered what I could use to play along at Stampotique this week.  Although I know I can use any stamp company, I prefer to only use Stampotique, but this challenge needed some extras.

The theme is 

"Nature" but "no humans or animals"

I thought I'd try a scene, so starting with a postcard sized piece of cardstock and some torn cardstock for the hills, off I went.

I stamped the sun first, masking off the lower half.  Next the green hills took shape, followed by the colours of the sunrise and lastly the sky.

Some foliage was added to the foreground.

The picket fence was stamped onto patterned paper before being fussy cut.  This particular paper is excellent for the fence as it has the appearance of corrugated iron, which in turn means each picket is a different colour to it's neighbour - works perfectly!

Stamps

Stampotique - "Picket Fence"

Carabelle Studio - "Zinouk du jardin"

Stampin' Up! - "Pocket Silhouettes"

Distress Inks

mustard seed, fossilized amber, wild honey, worn lipstick, peeled paint, faded jeans

Challenge

Stampotique Designers Challenge - #239 "Nature"

Happy Crafting!

hello friend

The theme at "Simply Less is More" this week is

'White Space but NOT White'

so after one false start, this card should fit in perfectly.

This was a quick and easy design using a square purple card base.  The stamp was inked up using Versa Mark with white embossing powder.  A simple sentiment finishes off a simple but pretty card.

Stamps

Carabelle Studios - 'Zinouk du jardin'

Tim Holtz - 'Simple Sayings'

Challenge

Simply Less is More - #270 "White Space but NOT White"

Happy Crafting!

Spring Time

It's been a cool, wet day here in Sydney today, such a relief after the heat & humidity of a long summer.  So, after doing a letterbox drop for the coming Easter services at church, I headed home to collect #2 son, and we headed to the shops (him on a driving lesson, we're nearly ready to sit for P's!).  

I just realised I'm going to be out with friends tomorrow, so if I'm going to get my entry in for this week's Wicked Wednesday Challenge, then I'd better do it now.

The theme is "Spring Time" although we are just heading into autumn, but that really doesn't matter.

I created the ATC from patterned paper and with the greenish bit being at the bottom, it sort of looks like a garden background.  I inked up stamps from Carabelle Studio and coloured them with Distress Markers.  A touch of blue Distress Ink around the edges finishes it off.

I wonder what it would be like to be tiny and wander around in a garden with big flowers and leaves as such.

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "Zinouk du jardin"

- "Zonouk des marais"

Challenge

Wicked Wednesday - #201 "Spring Time"

Happy Crafting!

Ready to Abandon

I thought I would have a bit of a play with some new stamps, so what better way to 'break them in' then to make some bookmarks to abandon.

I've used "There are always flowers" from Carabelle Studio for this first set of bookmarks.  

They are coloured with Prismacolor pencils and although you can't see it in the photo, there is a touch of Wink of Stella in the centre of each flower.

This lovely horse is from "revolution" from Visible Image, along with the script.  The words are from Katzelkraft.  The background colours are a blend of Distress Inks spritzed with water.

This great guy is "Buru" from Stampotique.  I stamped him directly onto the bookmark, then masked him and blended Distress Inks over the top.  He is coloured using a variety of Prismacolor pencils. These bookmarks are also spritzed with water.

All these bookmarks are now in plastic bags and ready to abandon.

Happy Crafting!

An Angel to Love

One of the things that Craftanoon does each time, is set a couple of challenges.  One of the challenges is to use something out of the 'goodie bag' which each person receives, and while most of the ladies are busy with layouts, I played with another new stamp on a tag.

Now I know this isn't the most exciting tag I've ever made but I was reasonably happy as this was the first time I had stamped up this lovely girl.  She is from the set "An Angel to Love" by Carabelle Studios and is available from Time to Create in Australia.

The flowers were in our goodie bags so I wanted the outfit to reflect those colours.  She is coloured using three different Distress Inks with just a pop of Gelly Roll ink to add a little sparkle.

See you again soon,

Happy Stamping!!!

Queen of Everything

I always have good intentions to play along with challenges, but before I know it, the week has gone and I've missed yet another one!  Yesterday, I wrote down various challenges so that I could see exactly what each was, and today I got playing!

The tag background is a combination of Distress Inks 'mermaid lagoon' and 'abandoned coral'.  The triangles (Carabelle Studios "Woman & Bird") were stamped using Versamark, with Perfect Pearls 'blue smoke' dusted over the top.  A little more background was added using a Kaisercraft stamp (I don't know the name of it, oops!).  Next a layer of Distress Crackle 'clear rock candy' was added and then put aside to allow for drying.

"The Queen of Everything" was stamped onto white cardstock, fussy cut and coloured with Distress Ink and Gelly Roll pens.  I left a lot of white to contrast with the background.  The words were stamped directly onto the tag with Archival Ink.  The "Queen" was popped up on dimensionals, a border was created with black cardstock and the tag was finished with a scrap of black lace.

I am entering this tag in the following challenges:

Stampotique Designers Challenge

Take a Stamp - Craft Stamper Magazine

Tagalong Challenge

Thanks for coming by for a peek at today's playtime creation.

I love reading comments, so please leave one if you feel so inclined.

Happy Crafting!