Spotlight at Crafty Cardmakers

It's time for another Crafty Cardmakers spotlight, and this time we're challenging you to use water. That's right, water! That can mean watercolours, spritzing, splashing ... whatever. We're sponsored by the Handy Hippo who're offering a £10 voucher to the lucky winner!

I chose to make a background with ink spritzed with water. I rubbed some Kalaidascope ink (blossom) onto a non-stick sheet, added a little Glimmer Mist and then water, mixed it a little with the handle of a paintbrush, then 'smooshed' some card in the result. I added a little more ink and water, then repeated the process, getting a paler result the second time. I stamped a flower from the Victoria and Albert Museum Quilts series in four toning shades of Versacolor ink onto the paler background. I finished the card with some floral lace (not much of it - it's too precious to use lots! In other words, I love it too much,) and some pink gauzy material I've had for several years. (It began life as a tie for a bouquet of flowers!)

Hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Catz where they want flowers,
Allsorts where they want something recycled (the pink gauzy material)
Totally Gorjuss where their theme is 'As YOU like it',
Moving Along with the times where the theme is 'Spring' (spring flowers)
Top Tip Tuesday where they want flowers.

More Ink!

Yes, that's right. More ink! I treated myself to some of the Tapestry stamp sets that've been around for a few years, and they arrived yesterday. Then there's the Lavinia set I've had for a few months. I've inked it up but never been happy with the result before. Put them together, and this is what I came up with!

I masked and sponged the background using a variety of Versamark inks, then stamped the fairy and castle in graphite, and followed that with the flowers, grassy bits and distant trees. I added some sparkle to the fairy's wings and butterflies with Sakura Stardust clear. The result is pretty much the size of the biggest square cards I've got (and therefore the biggest envelopes), so I mounted it on glittered black card, and finished it off with a bouquet using bits from the local 99p shop, Hobbycraft, and some glittery ribbon.

I'd like to enter the card for the following challenges: Wild Orchid who want us to 'make it sparkle', Creative Card Crew whose theme is 'Sparkle and Shine', and Stampacular Sunday which wants more than one image stamped (fairy, castle, butterflies, flowers, grass ....).

I've got Inky Fingers!

Well, not any more, but I did on Saturday evening!

I'm not really an inky person. I had major problems getting to grips with rubber stamping, and although it doesn't scare me any more, it's definitely not a technique that I go to for 'easy' and 'comfortable' crafting. Still, I bought myself a lovely Kaleidocolour stamp pad and I set out to use it to make some backgrounds. I used the 'put colour on your craft mat then spritz with water' method, and of course, once you've done one, you've got to do some more. (Or I do, at least!) The result of all that was a set of notelets.

I used some aperture cards that I've had for a long time. That gave a few problems, like having to line the insides to give a note-worthy surface, but I think they work fairly well. I used some stamps I've had for a while but which have lost their label, and one from Lavinia. The ink for the background is the Blossom pad, and I've stamped the actual images in memento ink. They're all matted on black and then on a toning shade of Coredinations pearlescent card, both cut with my trusty nesties.

No specific recipient in line for them at the moment, but I suspect I'll put them away until closer to Christmas - they're bound to come in handy then.

 I'm entering it for the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp where they want you to make a gift, and Aud Sentiments where, this time, 'Anything Goes'.