Say it loud

Nat has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and she’d like to see words take centre stage - oversized, mixed fonts, negative die cuts, just choose a way to make the words the focal point of your design. 

I opted for a subtle image in the background with a bold word on top for a card with a masculine feel. I added some grounding with a regular pencil, a few pearl dots and some white highlights on the lettering just to accentuate it a bit more.  

Stamps:
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Champagne Celebration (Crafters Companion)

Paper:
Bristol board

Strathmore toned grey

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Black fineliner
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - February

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. Mine went to the lovely Gail in Norway this time. Once I saw that one of the themes was polar bears and my mind went to this stamp (which probably hasn’t seen ink for the best part of a decade) I couldn’t seem to work in any of the other options. Never mind, one is all it takes to play!

The bears are stamped on grey paper and coloured with pencils - I think I succeeded in making the edges of the image disappear somewhat (the lines of the water stop rather abruptly). There’s a touch of sparkle on the water courtesy of Wink of Stella and an eclipse sentiment and that’s about it. 

I’ve just (re)listened to the Philip Pullman Northern Lights trilogy on Audible so of course I was imagining these bears donning their armour as I made the card! Would have been totally appropriate for its destination since they’re Svalbard bears but I’m not sure I’m up to drawing armour made of sky iron so they remained unclad (apologies if that whole paragraph meant nothing to you!).

Stamps:
Polar Bear Pair (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Strathmore Toned Grey

Ink:
Hero Arts shadow ink by Ranger (Soft Granite)

Other:
Spellbinder Phrases 1 dies
Coloured pencils
Stitched rectangle dies, A6 size (Paper Rose)
Clear Wink of Stella pen

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 the next person in the chain. Details here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tic tac toe on the ocean

I’m delighted to be guest designing for the current challenge at Retro Rubber. It’s one of their tic tac toe challenges this time, I always enjoy playing these. I picked the middle row: neutrals-the ocean-colouring with inks, markers or pencils. 

The shells are from a Hero Arts set that is one of my all time favourites. Sadly, I believe it’s retired now. I stamped and masked the two larger shells on toned grey paper and stamped the smaller shell separately so that I could pop it up slightly with some gel glue. I used several shades of grey and a white pencil to colour the images, masked them and sponged ink over a die cut for the net effect. The sentiment is from another favourite old set by Crafty Secrets. 

The "light through water" effect at the top is a stencil -  just ink lightly over it once and then shift it slightly and do it again.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, I’ve had mine since about 2013)
Sentiment from Seaside (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us, I’ve had mine since 2008)

Paper:
Bristol board
Strathmore Toned Grey

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Hero Arts shadow ink by Ranger (Soft Granite)

Other:
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Coloured pencils
Stitched rectangle dies, A6 size (Paper Rose)
Netting  die cut (Marianne Designs)
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)

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.

Power of three

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. As it’s the anniversary of the birth of Alexandre Dumas, I thought we might celebrate The Three Musketeers by featuring threes on our projects this week.

I opted for three circles and three dots of Enamel Accents on a masculine birthday card. I got some toned grey paper for Christmas having seen some lovely pencil colouring done on it and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just had a first play with it! I’ve opted for more of a simple sketch book look, too.

Embossing adds some textural interest for a limited colour palette. I inked the folder so there’s a bit extra shading going on, too. I still had the pearlescent watercolours out on my desk from last week's card so I spattered some gold on the panel before sticking down the elements.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (both Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Toned grey (Strathmore)
Bristol board 

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Smokey Gray)

Other:
Coloured pencils (white and two greys)
Charcoal pencil
Circles dies by Spellbinder
Fine frames circle die by Altenew
Stitched rectangles A6 dies by Paper Rose Studio
Shell Beauty M-Bossabilities by Spellbinder
Metallic gold pen
Metallic gold paint
Enamel Accents by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by, please do continue to take care as we ease out of lockdown and, if you’re in England, don’t forget your mask from today if you’re heading out to the shops!