Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 254

The challenge for this fortnight is to celebrate Easter in some crafty project or other.

I made a card.

The main stamps are from Creative, and the background was created using stamps from Card-io and Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I used Memento ink throughout, and completed the card with a die cut flower which I shaded using the same ink.

 I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 80

For this fortnight, the challenge is to create something without a focal image.

I decided to add to my stash of Easter cards, courtesy of a stamp set from Creative that I bought recently.

I teamed the stamps with some from Rubber Stamp Tapestry and Card-io and used Memento ink throughout. Quite a simple card, and apart from the background matting, just a single layer so it will post without costing an arm and a leg!

I do hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 238

The theme for this fortnight is Here Comes Summer.  This means that anything that means summer to you is perfect, although if the connection isn't obvious, it'd be great if you could mention the reason!

Although the idea of sitting on a beach in high summer doesn't appeal to me at all, there's something about the idea of an old-fashioned deck chair on a sandy beach that just seems to me to mean, 'summer'.

I started by masking most of the card, leaving just an oval in the centre. I applied some distress ink for the sky, and used a scrap of paper to give an uneven edge to the bottom of that. Then, I created a sandy lower half in the same way. Of course, I forgot to mask off for the sun, so I added that after using Pan Pastel.

Once that was done, I masked the oval, and stamped a selection of seashells and starfish from the Card-io Majestix range using Memento ink. When that was done, I added a little Memento ink to the background.

To complete the card, I cut the deck chair using a Joanna Sheen die, and completed the scene with a few more images from the Card-io set.

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 62

The challenge for this fortnight is Christmas in July. So, here's your chance to get started on your Christmas cards or gifts, if you haven''t already done that.

I've been playing with a technique for a while - using Tapestry or Majestix stamps or other small stamps from my collection.

And this is another one! The main tree stamp is from Crafty Impressions and I'm afraid I've got no idea who made the bauble stamps. They've been in my collection for years, and I suspect they came from Hobbycraft when I was first trying my hand at stamping.

I've used a Kaleidacolor ink pad for all the stamping. I was lucky enough to find some on sale at Ally Pally in April, and this is one of the new ones  - Fruitcake.The background shading uses Distress Ink.

To finish the card I added some sticky gems to the tree, and ran a clear Sakura Stardust pen around the dotty outline.

International Art and Soul Challenge 54

The theme for this fortnight's challenge is colour-based: green plus two other colours. So, which colours will you choose to go with the blue?

For this, I used some recently-acquired Card-io Majestix stamps. For my first attempt, I used a rectangular mask which had some gaps in it, and stamped around that. But, that was a mistake, as it really just looked like some random shapes had found their way through the mask. So, second attempt, I cut an oval mask, and stamped away using Memento ink. I added a few lowers and a sentiment both cut with dies from last year's Crafter's Companion Advent calendar which my daughter gave me for my birthday. I matted the result, and was pretty happy with that. But then realised I wanted to do an insert. So, I used the failed first attempt! I scanned it, then added an aperture in Photoshop Elements, mirrored the result and came up with this:

And that's it. Just goes to show you shouldn't throw away mistakes (at least, not straight away ...)

I hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 30

This fine April Fool's Day, we're challenging you to try something new. So, we want to see a card type you've never made before. Any design, any theme, just try something new!

I don't know what this style is called, but its definitely new to me.

It comes in two parts. This is the outside. I've used some Crafter's Companion dies here to make the triangular panels. They don't cut on the third (hidden) side, so I left a border there for attaching to the backing sheet. The flower is also Crafter's Companion. I started with a gold-coloured card and brushed on some Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink, and finished with some Liquid Pearl.

For the inside, I wanted something colourful that could be glimpsed through the lacy outer pocket. I started by die cutting a square using a Tonic die set. Then, I added some Distress Ink in Ripe Persimmon, Peacock Feathers, Scattered Straw, Faded Jeans and Broken China. Then, using the a heart die from the same Tonic set, I cut some sticky note paper and used it to mask the central area. Then, I got out my Tapestry stamps. I've always loved the idea of these, but this is the first time I've actually been happy enough with the result to use it! I stamped with the same inks as I had used in the background and edged with more Ripe Pesimmon. To finish, I stamped a sentiment using a stamp from a recent Creative Expressions release. I used my Tonic Stamp Platform for this and the very first stamp pad I ever bought! It's a basic dye pad, and I used it because I've always got problems stamping with Distress Inks using clear stamps. They just don't ink clear stamps nicely.

And that's it. I'm looking forward to being inspired by lots of lovely new ideas!