November Elements

We're starting to gear up to Christmas at Daring Cardmakers so this month's “elemental” mood board lends itself to festive projects if that's the way the mood takes you. As ever, just choose at least three elements from the picture to kickstart your project.

I chose white text on a black background, a bauble (I chose the teal colour of the star rather than the more obvious pink) and a black and white pattern. I just drew the stripes with a marker and the bauble is cut out and popped up on a bit of scrap card. I used a hole punch to make an actual loop by taking the centre out of the stamped image and tied some silver thread through it. 

Stamps:
Christmas Joy (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Sentiment from a magazine freebie set

Paper:
Bristol board
Black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Bright white detail embossing powder (Wow)
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Silver thread

Link in the chain - June (and May!)

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge — mine is still en route to Lou I think, mail to Australia is being very slow at the moment, apparently! 

From the options on offer I chose the themes of fluffy and friendship. This little guy was the fluffiest thing I could think of in my stash! 

It’s my usual one layer card for CCC, just stamps, ink and some Enamel Accents for a finishing touch. I used my trusty piece of acetate that has various sized circles die cut from it to add the backdrop for the chick. 

Stamps:
Farm Chicks (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Sentiment from Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Hero Arts Shadow ink (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean)

Other:
Copic markers
Enamel Accents

I realised I forgot to blog last month’s so I’ll do that now. It went to the lovely Jo and from the options on offer I chose the theme of desert and the colour scheme of pineapple, peach, terracotta. I sort of regretted that choice after I’d mentally committed to it since I didn’t really have ink colours that matched and ended up doing lots of blending with various inks to get somewhere close! My memory has probably failed on exactly what went in there but never mind, I’m sure nobody really cares!

Stamps:
Way Out West and Back in the Saddle (both Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sandal, Mountain Rose, Rust)
Jenni Bowlin dye ink by Ranger (Lemon Drop)

Thanks for stopping by!

Word Play

It's my turn to set the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week. We're playing with the letters FEB as we wave goodbye to the month - use something beginning with each of those letters on your card.

I've combined with the current challenge at Let's Squash It which wants us to use green and an insect with our embossing folders. I think that bit's self-explanatory and I was lucky enough to win this lovely folder a couple of challenges back so I thought it would be appropriate to use it here. My FEB elements are Frame (and Flowers), Embossing folder (and Enamel Accents) and Bee.

I brayered a couple of green inks onto my folder before embossing and added Enamel Accents and fine glitter on the flower heads before stamping the bee, colouring with a white paint pen then restamping and adding a touch of colour with Copics. 

I've left it with no sentiment as an all-purpose kind of card.

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukinko (Graphite Black)
Distress Oxide (Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough)

Other:
Stitched Frame dies (Paper Rose)
Ball Flower embossing folder (Hobby Solution)
White pain pen (Posca)
Copic markers
White Enamel Accents (Ranger)
Glamour Dust glitter by Deco Art (Crystal)
MISTI

Link in the chain - Octobter

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. Mine has gone over the Pond to Linda this time.

From the options on offer for October I chose the colour palette (ruby, amber, sapphire) and the theme of shoes. Those things combined in my head to make a Wizard of Oz vibe so yellow brick road it had to be! That meant my usual one layer creations for CCC fell by the wayside as I wanted to use this brickwork embossing folder. 

The shoes have some glitter pen on them for a bit of glamour and the tiny nail art gems add a bit extra in that department. 

Stamps:
Wizard of Oz (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
DCWV

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Wild Honey)

Other:
Copic markers
Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Brickwork 3D embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Nail art gems
Spica glitter pen (red)

Thanks for stopping by! There are still a few days to sign up for the November chain if you fancy it, all the details here

Movie mania

The current Lost Coast challenge has us focusing on the wonderful world of the cinema with Movie Mania.

My first idea was to turn the Showgirls stamp into a whole row with a bit of masking (to represent the movie A Chorus Line) but Riet beat me to the same idea and I didn't want to look like a copycat! I went through several other ideas (Gnomeo and Juliet, anyone?) but then another idea for the same stamp popped in to my head. Can you spot the movie reference?

Using some dragonfly wings (and a piece of acetate to reverse them since they pointed the wrong way) I've transformed the girls into Absinthe fairies and given them extra Parisian flavour with a misty Eiffel Tower in the background. There's some fairy sparkle on wings and costume accents, courtesy of Spica pens.

Stamps:
Showgirls (Lost Coast Designs)
French Mail and Poppies (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Shadw ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)

Other:
Copic markers
Flim strip ribbon (Tim Holtz)
Spica glitter pens (green and turquoise)
Glossy Accents (to stick the film ribbon down invisibly)

Got the movie? Get your best Kylie impression out for the Absinthe fairy from Moulin Rouge!

 

July's elements

It's the first Friday of a new month so of course that means an "elemental" challenge at Daring Cardmakers - just choose at least three elements from the picture to kick start your project.

Kathy has gathered supplies to make a lovely inspiration picture for us this month. From it I picked the Eiffel Tower, a daisy, washi tape, clear domes and the rich teal blue of the ribbon for a little collage of elements on a small card (this is 10.5cm square).

Stamps:
French Mail (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Build a Bouquet (Stampendous)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate, Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Peacock Feathers)

Other:
Copic markers

Glossy Accents
Washi tape
Corner Chomper

Here's the inspiration photo Kathy has put together for us this month, what inpsires you here?

Link in the chain - May

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge - my card has gone to Greta in Oregon this time. 

I often do one layer cards for CCC, especially if they’re ones that will be airmailed. I followed that philosophy this time, and from the options on offer I used the sketch, the colours (sort of) and the theme of coffee. 

Making a card using only the supplies in a single stamp set is satisfying and I managed to do that here. As it’s a clear set, I even managed to curve the sentiment before stamping. The circles are inked through my trusty piece of die cut acetate, I masked the lady and the cup before using a blending brush to add the Denim ink. The coffee bean is a single image but with a little basic masking it's easy to make a group of them and I have a couple of masks stuck to the packaging so I don't even have to cut those out.

Stamps:
Tea and Coffee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black and Pearlescent Chocolate)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Denim)

Other:
Copic markers
Scor It
Corner Chomper 
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by, there are still a few days to sign up for the next chain if you fancy it - make and send one card, get a card from another player!

Molly’s makeover

Today, Molly has had a mermazing makeover for Daring Cardmakers. Jenny has set our challenge and as May is apparently the month of mermaids, she’d like to see these mythical creatures inspiring our cards. 

So, Molly thought it would be fun to dress up for the occasion. She found some sea-inspired colours in her eyeshadow palette, created a seaweed tangle wig, a coronet of shells and pearls and finally projected some fish, seaweed and bubbles onto a watery background. 

Molly’s streaming hair is created with hot glue with various shades of Perfect Pearls brushed over (I used black glue as it creates a lovely effect when you put mica powders over the top). I used blue and green metallic gel pens to add some finer lines between the ribbons of glue. Copic markers, various inks, glitter, pearl pen and Glossy Accents make this a genuinely mixed media makeover for Molly!

I’m also playing again at Lost Coast Designs where the current challenge theme is “under the sea”. 

Stamps:
Molly (Beeswax Stamps)
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)
Seaside (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Hero Arts shadow ink (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio)

Other:
Hot glue (black)
Perfect Pearls (shades of green and blue, I lost track!)
Copic markers 
Glossy Accents
Pearl Pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Metallic gel pens (blue and green)
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
White paint pen by Posca
Glamour Dust (Crystal)
Corner Chomper 

Book lover

Svenja has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today - she’d like to see us celebrating books and reading. 

I fully intended not to use the little reader again having used the stamp for a recent dare but in the end just couldn’t resist! I did change things up a bit by adding some hand drawn pigtails. I found a piece of book text with finger-painted circles in a box of bits and used that as my background. I added a bit of Picked Raspberry ink over the open text areas and a strip of washi tape for grounding. 

I decided the reader needed to stand out a bit more against the busy background so I added some vellum circles just to tone it down slightly behind her. 

Stamps:
Story of Me (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Old book page with acrylic painted circles
Vellum

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (Picked Raspberry)

Other:
Washi tape
Copic markers
Black fineliner
Large circle squeeze punch by Fiskars
Pinflair gel glue

Thanks for stopping by!

Got your number

I’d had the intention to make a card with the bingo embossing and the '50s style ladies for the current challenge at Lost Coast (where the theme is numbers) but hadn’t been getting round to it. The latest challenge at Let’s Squash It to use at least three folders and a person gave me the extra push to do it before the deadline when I hit on this idea for combining. 

The bingo card became the backdrop for the sassy pair and I took inspiration from Gail’s Technique Time post and embossed three scraps with the other two folders - circular scraps in this case. The birthday sentiment is already a circle and I put two other circles into a folder that has lots of circles on it. Pearl dots seemed to be in keeping with both the circle thing  and the '50s feel. I even gave the top lady a pearl  earring!

I initially planned to sand the bingo card having painted white card with black acrylic paint but I wasn’t getting quite as much contrast as I wanted so I ended up using silver wax on it. 

This was a fun make, even if the end result isn’t very “me”!

Stamps:
Tea and Coffee, Cherish Alphabet (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Bingo and Retro Circle embossing folders (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Happy Birthday embossing folder (set of four small folders by Sizzix)
Copic markers
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Black acrylic paint 

  

Celebrating bees!

Shabneez has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to hear it for the bees! They're fantastic little creatures and so many things in the modern environment pose a threat to them, I'm happy to have any excuse to celebrate bees.

Some bees have something called a "waggle dance" - they use it to "talk" to their hive mates and tell them the direction and distance to go for patches of pollen. I thought dancing bees might well be celebrating!

I was lazy and used the die as a stencil rather than cutting one - I think it worked OK for this kind of slightly grungy look. I splattered over the inking with gold paint for a hint of honey!

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Mixed Media 1 dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Copic markers
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Gansai Tambi Starry Colour paints
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Fairy tales

Rizwana has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week and as it’s National Tell a Fairy Tale day she’d like to see cards inspired by favourite fairy tales. 

I opted for something a little more generic but I think dragons definitely count as fairy tale! I bought the dragon stamps many years ago (when it was still Elusive Image, not Chocolate Baroque) but I think this is the first time this one has seen ink. I’m still enjoying delving quite deliberately into older supplies - apart from the dragon, the little reader made his first appearance on this blog in 2008!

My Copics haven’t had a workout for a while so I coloured the images with those. I thought doing the dragon in shades of grey might make him look as if he’s emerging from the imagination of the little reader.  I stamped the reader first, masked him and stamped the dragon in the background with grey ink. 

Stamps:
Story of Me  (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Here Be Dragons (Chocolate Baroque)
Storybook (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Hero Arts shadow ink (Soft Granite, Charcoal)

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper 
White paint pen by Posca

See which fairy tales my teamies were inspired by here! Thanks for stopping by. 

Link in the chain - December!

The Card Chain Challenge didn’t take its usual December break - 2020 was such a strange year that Gail and Jo decided to do a special challenge for December. The traditional format did get a break though and we got a tic-tac-toe board to play with. My card has gone to Mia in Greece this time.

Since it’s an extra challenge I thought I’d go the extra mile and play for a full house, although I confess it was partly that I was having trouble deciding which line to go for!

I thought a vintage photo might be a good way to incorporate black and white so decided to go down the collage route. This group having fun paddling in the river seemed like they’d hit the friendship theme too. I’m imagining they’ve just finished a lovely picnic on the sunny riverbank and they’re cooling off. There’s some watery ink dribbled on the card base as background colour and then some stencilling, some stamping, torn washi tape (I tore one piece in half to get two skinny pieces in case just tearing the ends seemed like too much cheating for the torn edges element!) and a bit of embossed trim and I think I managed to hit all the grid squares.

Stamps:
Bird Notes and Queen Bee (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Sentiment and bubbles/dots from Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Premium weight copy paper (to print the photo)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed) and Oxide (Blueprint Sketch)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Vintage photo downloaded from The Graphics Fairy
Washi tape
Star Trim Embosslit and Mixed Media 1 dies (Sizzix)
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Clear Wink of Stella pen

Happy New Year to all - here’s hoping that 2021 will be kinder than 2020.

Animal antics

It's Countdown to Christmas number six over at Daring Cardmakers and today our theme is "animal antics" - make anything you like as long as it features a Christmas critter or two.

When I saw the Cool Yule set on sale a while back I knew I had to get it for the reindeer head. A friend has a felt and fabric deer head on her wall year-round (he has a Libery print fabric nose) and I couldn't resist the idea of making a Christmas card for her although I didn't go for the ditsy floral nose in the end! I cut all the pieces from white card and added colour with markers. He's a bit fiddly but it's satisfying to see him emerge as you assemble the individual bits. 

His leafy wreath is not really a Christmas stamp but I figured if I gave it red ribbon and red berries it would make a reasonable festive stand-in. I used a glitter pen on the berries for just a touch of sparkle.

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Noel (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Bundled Sage)
Momento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)

Other:
Cool Yule dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Copic markers
Gel glue (Pinflair)
Spica glitter pen (red)
Corner Chomper

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - August (and July!)

It's reveal time again over at Card Chain Challenge. My card this month went to Kath so it didn't have too far to travel.

From the options on offer, I chose the themes of summer and friendship. Summer seemed like the perfect excuse to revist this sweet image. I thought simple pencil colouring might work (although not so well for the photograph, it turns out!) and used the Toned Grey paper again as a nice neutral, slightly sandy base.

Stamps:
Seaside (Craft Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Toned Grey by Strathmore

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies (Paper Rose Studio)
Coloured pencils

I realised I forgot to blog July's chain card so I'll do that here too, just so I have a record if I check back on my blog! This one went to Helen and I chose the underwater theme, the colours and the sketch (mirror image as my octopus faces right).

I used the MISTI and stamped dark to light so I cold heat emboss the solid layer of the image so the octopus would resist the inking for the background circle - sure beats trying to mask those fiddly tentacles!

Stamps:
Color Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
I don't remember but Distress and Oxides in Wilted Violet, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean probably went in there somewhere! I do rememeber the sentiment is Charcoal by Hero Arts.

Other:
Detail embossing powder (clear)
Sequins
Stickles (Frosted Lace)
Stencil (Fibres by Visible Image)
MISTI

Thanks for stopping by, hope you are keeping safe and well. There are still a few days to sign up for the September chain if you fancy making and sending a card and getting one from another chain member. sign up here.

Link in the chain - June

It's reveal time at Card Chain Challenge - mine is winging its way to Dawn in New Zealand this time.

From the options for June I chose the theme (beach) and sort of followed the sketch. As the card needed to go half way round the world it’s a single layer to keep it light and flat for airmailing - masking is always a useful technique when you want a “layered” image without actually using layers!

I used a stiff stencil brush to stipple various light brown and yellowish inks to give the sandy strip the appearance of some texture

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Color Layering Waves (both Hero Arts)
Seaside (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Tumbled Glass)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Latte)

Other:
Copic markers 
Brown fineliner 
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe.

Inky!

Rizwana is setting her first challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see some inky backgrounds.

I have two quite different projects to share for this one but they both use the same basic technique - add some ink to a sheet of acetate, spritz with water and add to a sheet of heavy cardstock or watercolour paper.

For this bird card I stamped the image first and masked it, then added the inky background in a pale blue for a subtle effect. I painted the berries in green in the hope they'd look more like leaf buds for a more spring-time feel.

Stamps:
Blue bird with branch and berries (Crafty Individuals)
Sentiment from Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Tim Holtz watercolour

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Stitched Rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose Studio)

The second project features more postcards for my dad and brother.

I added three different blues to some watecolour paper, building up layers using the acetate technique. Then I stared at them for ages trying to figure out what to do with them. I finally settled on a VE Day theme and added some bunting and stamped numbers since we're commemorating 75 years this year.

The blues lifted quite well from the open flag areas just with water but I decided I wanted a cleaner white so those are painted with a bit of gesso.

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary, no longer with us)

Paper:
Watercolour

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocen, Blueprint Sketch, Barn Door)
Mid tone ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Gesso
Microglaze

Thanks for stopping by, if you fancy getting inky to distract yourself in lockdown why not come join us?

Link in the chain: May

The reveal for May's Card Chain Challenge has just gone live. My card went to Jo this month and from the options on offer I used the theme of insects and the sketch.

I used an embossing folder to "stamp" the backkground - the positive side with a couple of shades of Distress ink and the negative to add the fine lines in dark brown - I didn't try precise line-up to get a slightly "off register" look.

After drawing in the charcoal pencil to fit the sketch I thought "bee line"!

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Watercolour

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate) 
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey)

Other:
Sizzix Texture Fade Folder (Honeycomb)
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Phrases I dies (Spellbinder)
Hexagon dies (X Cut)
Corner Chomper

There are still a couple of days to sign up for the June chain if you fancy it!

May's elements

It's the first Friday of the month so that means an "elemental" challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. Shabneez has chosen the inpsiration picture for May - as ever, just chose at least three elements to kickstart your project.

I chose dragonfly wings, irridescent blue/green and splashy metallic gold (from the hands bottom left).

All my stamps are older than a year so I'm playing along at Retro Rubber as well where it's currently "anything goes"!

Stamps:
Poppies (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us. Set is dated 2010)
Splat That and sentiment from Big Day Today (both Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us. Sets dated 2013)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Copic Spic glitter pen (turquoise)
Flitter Glu by Indigo Blu
Mega Flake by Indigo Blu (Chariot of Fire)
Corner Chomper
Scor It

Here's the picture if you didn't come via DCM and would like to play along:

Thanks for stopping by!

July elemental

Enfys has chosen the inspiration for the first challenge of July over at Daring Cardmakers which is our usual "elemental" dare. Just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture as the basis of your project.

I chose the colour scheme, the black and white stripes of one of the vases and the eggs.

A hand-drawn wonky square coloured with Copic markers and bordered with a fineliner combined with a stamped image and some glitter card shapes.

This started off as a much more clean and simple design but I mis-stamped some chicken footprints under the sentiment and ended up using the "embesllishment opportunity" to add stars rather than start again! I'm not quite sure about the result but maybe it will grow on me!

Stamps:
Farm Chicks (Craft Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Glitter paper (local £1 shop)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Fiskars squeeze punches (stars)
Copic markers
Black fineliner 
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper 

Here's the inspiration picture - check out what the other DT girls were inspired by. We'd love to see your take on it, too!

Thanks for stopping by!