Visible Image - Spring

Hello!  Our theme at Visible Image this week is Spring, and Mark's new release of stamps and stencils fits the bill perfectly.  I've used the Beautiful Life and Blocked Up stamp sets and the Windows stencil for my card.  

I wanted the sentiment to sit in a box across the flower, and for the swashes (technical term - the tails on the word 'create') to flow out of the box.  I also wanted to do it without adding a layer, so I stamped a lined rectangle from the Blocked Up set, and stamped my sentiment to sit in the rectangle, then cut a mask for the box so that I could stamp, sponge and stencil over it.

You can just see the sentiment through the mask.  With the sentiment protected, I could now create the rest of the card.

I started off by adding Distress Stains to the flower stamp - Mustard Seed and Wild Honey for the petals, and Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint for the leaves and stem.  I used a stamping platform so that I could re-ink if necessary.

I overstamped in a few places with the grunge geometric stamp and Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.

I sponged the background in places with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.  Using the Windows stencil I then lifted some of the colour with a damp baby wipe.  On other parts of the card I stencilled more Evergreen Bough, turning the stencil 180 degrees in some parts.  I also stamped the grungy circle in Peeled Paint and Evergreen Bough.

Once I removed the mask, it revealed a smooth white sentiment panel that sits visually in front of the flower and stamping detail.

Before mounting the panel onto gold and black card, I stamped and embossed the splodge stamp in the top corner using Salvaged Patina Dsitress Glaze.  I also added some background stamping to the card base.

Distress Stains are great for adding deep colour to solid areas of stamps.

For a finishing touch I added Diamond Stickles to the centre of the flower.

Pop on over to the Visible Image website for all of the new release, and treat yourself!

Seize The Birthday - No Stamping, Not Even The Sentiment!

It's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday, and this week Jules has chosen No Stamping - not even the sentiment!

I'd run out of encaustic wax scenes, so I got all the kit out and did a spot of ironing.  I think I made about 8 in all.  I've just ordered some more waxes so I'll probably do some more ironing before I put it all away again.  I love the complete randomness of how the scenes turn out, you can only do so much to control it.

For this card, I added some silver wax along the edge of the iron, which gave the hilltops a bit of a sheen.  I was happy with how it turned out, and with that white gap where no wax covered the card, because it makes it look like snow-covered hills and reminds me of Scotland.  Especially as I finished it off with a plaid printed sentiment topper.

Not that I've been to the Scottish Highlands.  But we're remedying that this year and having a little trip up there in the summer.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some fabulous examples of no stamping, and play along with us.  If you'd prefer to include stamping, you can play along with our Anything Goes theme.

Happy stamping cardmaking! 

Visible Image - Cats

The theme at Visible image this week is Cats, and for my non-card brief I've made a mixed media canvas art panel.

I started by stamping the fabulous Cat-tastic Background stamp onto watercolour card, and reactivating the distress inks that were already on my palette - waste not, want not!

I coloured a few randomly spaced cats, mixing and blending a few of the colours.

Adding coordinating colours to my palette, I worked my way round the cats, giving some of them stripes.

I used Stormy Sky distress ink to paint in the background, then using coloured pencils I added shading and detail to some of the stripes.

It still looked a little flat, so I added white highlights with a Posca paint pen.

Now for the canvas.  I covered it in black gesso then spritzed it with Distress Spritz - Antique Linen and Broken China).

When I'm trimming background panels, I tend to save the strips.  I found one that was the perfect size for the sentiment.

I scuffed the edges of the watercolour panel with the edge of my scissors, then adhered it to the black panel.

The spritz one the sentiment catches the light beautifully.

I made an easel stand for the back of the canvas panel so it can be freestanding, but it could easily be changed to hanging by adding thread across the back.

Take a look at the Visible Image site for this and other fabulous cat stamps.

Seize The Birthday - Add A Heart

Hello peeps!  Time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday, and JoAnn has chosen Add A Heart To Your Card - well, it is Valentine's Day tomorrow.

This one flummoxed me for a while.  I've got plenty of heart stamps and dies, but nothing was inspiring me.  Eventually I remembered about the tiny hearts from the Tim Holtz Falling Hearts die, and I wanted to use the Papercut Cafe set and Brushstroke Flowers Mini set, so it all came together on a stencilled background using a Stamperia stencil and a Tim Holtz mini stencil, and plenty of Distress Oxide sprays.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the Design Team and our surprise party guests, and play along with us.  If hearts aren't your thing, play along with our Anything Goes theme instead, as long as it's a birthday theme.

Visible Image - Valentines

Love is in the air!  This week at Visible Image our theme is Valentines, and my brief is clean and simple (CAS), my favourite style.

I wanted a pink and gold background, so I smooshed some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and some gold writing ink onto an acrylic block, spritzed it and mixed it with the palette knife.  

I bought the set of writing inks at the Museum of London several years ago and never opened them, but with a good shake and mix they were usable.

I dipped the card onto the mix and swooshed it about a bit,

then topped it up and dipped another piece of card.

Now I couldn't decide which one to use!

The one on the right had a bit more ink than I really wanted, so I used that as my test piece.  I set up the heart cluster stamp from Forever In Your Heart and Bestie! from Best Birthday Ever on my MISTI and stamped.  I wasn't really happy with the spacing - they were too far apart so the design didn't look cohesive, so I stamped another heart cluster in between to balance the design.

For the second card, I positioned the stamps slightly nearer, then after stamping added some stencilling in Picked Raspberry in a couple of areas using the Halftone stencil.

I mounted this panel onto gold mirri card then onto my white card base.

For the double heart card, I mounted onto gold mirri but with a narrower border, and angled the panel slightly.

One of them is going to my hubby, who is my bestie, for Valentines Day.

The stamps and stencils are available on the Visible Image website - go treat yourself!

Seize The Birthday - Kraft & Red

Hello peeps, time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday, and time to welcome our newest team member and my friend, Jenny Martin of My Paper Epiphany.

This challenge, set by Glenda, is Kraft and Red (but you could always play along with our Anything Goes theme if you prefer, as long as it's birthday-themed).

I used a couple of flowers from Tim Holtz Abstract Florals set and coloured them red with Tombow brush markers, and added highlights with a white Posca pen.  The sentiment is from TH Glorious Bouquet.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous Kraft and red inspiration from the team, and from our surprise party guests, and play along with us.

Visible Image - Teenage Birthday

Morning!  Now, that's not a greeting that you get to say often to a teenager, but teenagers are our focus this week.  And I've brought you a twofer of teenage birthday cards, albeit accidentally.

I wanted to make a graffiti background, so I started by covering an A5 card panel with Distress Inks, swiping the full-sized pads directly onto the paper, then using the mini pads to fill in the gaps.

Then I placed the Graffiti stencil over the panel, and used a blending tool to fill the spaces with Black Soot Oxide.  I has to be Oxide because the normal Black Soot doesn't give as dense a coverage.

Looks a bit of a mess at this stage, but when you remove the stencil the colours really pop through the black.

Meanwhile I stamped the T-shirt from Nothing to Wear, added a star and the 'smile' from the same set, then die cut it using the coordinating die.

I popped the T-shirt die onto the panel to give me an idea of placement for the white T-shirt, then I realised that if I die-cut the T-shirt out of the panel I could inlay the white T-shirt, and have a graffiti t-shirt for another card - win, win!  

To complete my first card it was just a case of lining up the white T-shirt into the graffiti panel and securing it on the reverse with some washi tape, then mounting it onto my white card base.

Because I'd placed the T-shirt centrally, there wasn't really enough room to add the sentiment on the front, so I added a strip to the inside of the card and stamped 'happy birthday' from the Go To Words set.

Here's a close-up of the smile logo on the T-shirt.

Now to the bonus card!  Once I'd die cut the graffiti T-shirt I placed it into the white negative diecut on the MISTI then lined up the stamp to stamp the outline (pity I hadn't left the stamp on the 'MISTI).  Stamping the outline gives the die-cut shape so much definition.

I chose a vibrant green card base to complement the graffiti colours, then added some marks from the Transmission Glitch set in opposing corners, 

and the 'happy birthday' from Go To Words in the bottom right corner.

I love it when I get two cards for the price of one!

All of these products are available on the Visible Image website, go treat yourself!