misty morning scene

A quick post tonight and something a little different for me . To create this quick scene I used stampin up  Slate grey ink and a blending brush to create the sky and water.  I blended in the islands with  little help from a sheet of paper to keep the base of the and straight.

I used Versafine Clare black ink for everything thing else, using first and second generation stamping.

The grass stamp is from |Lavinia  stamps, The mini tree and deer are stamps I bought many, many years ago, and can't remember the name of the makers. A white gel pen was used to drawn in a few highlights across the water and where the land meets the water.

 

Floral tent fold card

 I bought the Two Tone Flora stamp set a couple of months ago, so I thought I had better get it out and play. This is a nice set to work with,  it reminds of a very old set called stippled blossoms, which is still my all time favourite floral stamp set. I think this set might be my all time second choice.

There is not much I can think of to say about this card, it's a pretty straight forward flat card that won't cost a fortune to post.   I made this as a 6 x 4 tent fold card. 

New home card. DIY, draw it yourself card.

Quite a few of my friends and family  have had the  moving house bug over the last year or so. 

I have found this quite frustrating from the card making stance. I don't seem to have any stamps suitable for that occasion.

 Disappointingly Stampin up don't and haven't sold a moving house stamp set for some years.

 Moving house is a momentous and very stressful occasion and needs to be marked with a card,  if not a huge moving in party, one where everyone brings a wallpaper scraper to strip the walls, while you serve wine and cheese. ha ha.

 I lived out of suitcase until I was 19, so I didn't have much to move when I settled into my first house, I'll call it a house rather than home as it was a very empty house and nothing like a home for some months.

 14 years and two children later, I moved to a bigger house and swore I was never moving again. 30 years on I'm still here.

Anyway out of frustration I decided to drawing some for the event.  Drawing is not one of my skills, but I thought I'd give it ago. I sketched out my rough design on a sheet of A4  paper in pencil almost filling the sheet.  I did a lot of rubbing out  at this stage. Once I was sort of happy I drew over the design with a  very fine pen and rubbed out my pencil lines.  I photo copied the drawing once to check my design. 

At this point I noticed a few bits I didn't  like, so with a correction pen I covered them over and re drew the offending article.

I  photocopied my image again reducing the size by around 40 percent.

I know the perspective is completely wrong, I know my boxes are wonky, but I really don't mind and I don't think anyone receiving one of these cards will mind too much.

  

Beautiful Thistle

Here are two cards I made a couple of weeks ago but never posted, due to being admitted to hospital with pneumonia. I am recovering at home now, but I'm not really up to doing much crafting as yet, so posts will be a bit thin on the ground for a while.

I fell in love with Stampin' ups  Beautiful Thistle stamp set, as soon as I saw it, probably because I have had a liking for pretty thistles since I was a child. So I knew I was going to buy it even though I 'm not sure how much use I will get out of it.

 I used Copic markers to colour the images on these cards. I used a white gel pen to highlight the leaves and petals. 

 

 To create the background, I blended a little brown ink around the edges and worked in towards the middle. Then splattered some ink over the top using a stamp and write marker pen with a diffuser gadget or the pen puffer as I like to call it.

On these cards, I used the  S.U deckled edge rectangle dies for the layers. These are a new addition to my craft stash. I really don't know how I missed these in the catalogue. I love the fact the spacing between each die is even on all sides. 

A lot of experimenting

This card was inspire by a video by Amanda Branston that I found on Lavinia stamps Facebook page. Amanda used Yupo paper and alcohol ink to create a wonderful background for her stamping. Unfortunately I have a few issues with my lungs, which puts me off using any substance that may affect my breathing.  Yes,  I know a lot of these things are low odour but just because they are low odour doesn't mean there are no fumes... it just means you can't smell them as much. I have come a cropper a few times using low odour products. So I am more cautious now. 

 I desperately wanted to create something similar so I thought |I would play around with re inkers and brusho powders to see if I could create something vaguely similar. Well , I am sad to say, I didn't create a background anywhere near as nice as Amanda achieved with her alcohol inks and Yupo. But after working my way through a whole block of watercolour paper, I did eventually produce a few backgrounds that were useable but still not what I wanted.

 My homemade gell plate was a bit cracked and dented so before I could do anything, I had to melt it down in the microwave  and pour it into a shallow circular container and leave it to set. Once it was fully set a daubed small amounts of various colours of ink and spritzed with water.  Then pressed the paper on top of the gell plate.  My first mistake was using too much re inker and too little water.  My second was using too much water and so it went on and on. 

 In the end I found mixing up a tiny amounts of brusho powders with a little water and adding drops of  three different colours to the gell plate with a pipet, then spritzing with a little water was better but still a long way from what I wanted.

Then kind of by accident, I created something that was fairly close to what I was aiming for.  See the header photo.  My gell plate was so mucky with the residue from previous attempts I couldn't be bothered to clean it properly as I'd almost lost the will to live.

 I just dotted some brusho mix on one side of the gell plate and pressed the paper on top giving me those lovely colourful watery marks in a peachy orange colour. The very pale peach on the opposite side is just the residue from the gell plate.

The green version didn't work out as well, but I decided to stamp on it to see how it turned out , the photo above doesn't do it justice the colour are much stronger in reality and I thought it was a little too dark and sombre so I splattered it with bleach. giving  a little more interest and  creating lighter patches.  I also added a gold rim to the edge of the circle using gold wax polish.

 I found this a difficult card to photograph , the colours are stronger in reality

 Using purple and black ink and the same stamps I used for the focal point,  I stamped the background on pretty peacock card stock.

Gatefold card

We all need a bit of inspiration from time to time and need to hop on to Youtube to find something that  inspires us and kick starts the mojo. Which is exactly what I did before creating this card.

I came across a video by Jo Rice on making this gatefold card. I thought it was very pretty, and  a bit out of my comfort zone, but  I wanted to have a go  at making this card anyway. Especially as I had received the fir tree stamps for Christmas and hadn't yet used them. It was the perfect excuse to get them out and start stamping.   

Once I had made the card, I remembered why I am not a great fan of gatefold cards. I think we waste our time decorating the front panels of this type of card.  The only time you see the front panels are when it's closed, but it won't stand when it's closed, so the side panels are folded out, hiding the artwork, and revealing a fairly plain, uninteresting central panel that's often totally unrelated to the outside artwork. which has also been written on by the sender. Not something I personally would want to put on display. I want to see the beautiful artwork.

I think that's why I was drawn to this card, I loved that Jo decorated the central panel to match her front panels. The sender wouldn't want to write on a beautifully decorated panel and would automatically write their greeting on the back or one of the inner side panels.

As I sit here writing this  I am wondering what it would be like if  I made the two front panels again (excluding the moon) and stick them to the inside panels to create a panoramic scene and maybe just put one scene and a sentiment on the outside...  I think I may try that.

Forest scene treat bags

I said I would do a quick tutorial on how I created my little forest scenes. These images were created on cheap and nasty  6x4 envelopes, which I sealed,  then cut the top end off to create a new opening, and used these as treat bags. 

I blended yellow (S.U. Barely Banana, which is a pale warm yellow, not a citrus yellow)  ink around the edges of the envelope, working my way towards the middle, the yellow was stronger at the edges fading out as I worked towards the centre. I left a white patch in the middle. The yellow needs to be blended carefully, as you get to the middle it needs to be very pale where it meets the white  so you don't have any harsh lines.

Once the yellow was applied I blended in some  pale papaya ink, ( another S.U ink which is a pale orange) working over the yellow edges and the corners, applying less and less ink as I worked inwards. I didn't want to cover all the yellow.

I tore a sheet of copier paper and placed it over the top section of the envelope and blended a lime green ink on the bottom section to create the woodland floor. I also used the edge of the torn paper to create some contours in the ground. You'll see these in the photos below.

I stamped a tree trunk either side of the envelope. I masked off the trunks using the sticky edge of a couple of post it notes.  Then stamped the trunk again diagonally.

Using my stamping platform  I secured my piece of work with the magnets.  I positioned the CLEAN mice stamps, where I wanted them to be on my work and closed the platform to pick up the stamps.

 I inked up the mice stamps using Versafine Clare Nocturn and closed the platform again to transfer the  mice image to my work.

 The mice stamps are from Lavinia stamps.( In fact all the stamps I used on this project were purchased from Lavinia stamps)

The beauty of using a stamping platform is, That if your image doesn't stamp correctly you can ink up the stamps again and stamp over the previously stamped images.  This will fill in any misses perfectly, providing your work hasn't moved at all. Always lift the platform door carefully to ensure your work doesn't move.  Sometimes the stamp will stick to your work, so if you're not careful your work can move.

If you don't have a platform and you get small  misses you can usually fill these in with a small paintbrush and the ink you used for stamping.

Once the mice were stamped  I could start stamping the foliage. I used the leaf creeper stamp to form the overhanging greenery.  I stamped in a yellow and lime green ink.  I finished off with a few stamped in Versafine Clare  Shady lane. I like this ink,  it gives good coverage, especially for silhouettes.

I masked off the tree trunks again, and stamped some wild flowers over the masked off areas, so they appear to be behind the trees. I used red ink for some and dark blue ink for others. I dotted some Posca paint over the top of the flowers in a lighter colour for a little more dimension.

Then stamping some ferns at the base of the trunks in lime green, and shady lady.

I wasn't completely happy with my fern stamping, so when the ferns where dry I stamped a small branch over the bottom of the envelope and up over some of the ferns in brown Versafine Clare.

 Versafine inks take much longer to dry, so I gave it some drying time before dotting  white Posca paint on and around the branches to form buds and flowers, disguising  the areas I wasn't too happy with. I added a few more flowers to the foreground again adding tiny dots of  Posca paint to the blooms.

 After waiting for the paint and inks to dry,  I coloured the tree trunks with Copic markers. If you look at the photo above the lower mouse looks odd, almost as though he is floating. He needs to be grounded.

This is easily done with a piece of torn paper placed over the mouse with his foot poking out  and brushing a tiny amount of a darker ink over the edge of the paper and  his foot.

If you are very confident you could bring this ink shading downwards to form the shadow. I am not that confident, so I added some shadows beneath the mouse with black chalk pastel and a tiny, stiff paint brush. Because I can rub out the chalk pastel if I mess up.

 This is not my normal style, so I did feel a little daunted when I decided to have a go at creating these scenes. But it really didn't take that much effort or time to create these images.  Which is just as well as I need to do 3 bags each week and I don't have vast amounts of time to waste on something that will end up in the bin a few minutes after they sweets have been devoured, ha ha . 

Woodland scenes

 I have been collecting the odd Lavinia stamp for a number of years, just one or two here and there, but over  the last 18months, I've been receiving them as gifts for Christmas and birthdays. I 've even bought a few extra myself, possibly because  I've bought everything I want from this years S.U catalogue. I always  struggle to find something to buy as the catalogue comes to an end.  So it's a good time to try something different using another company's products.

I find it quite a challenge to change style completely. Creating this type of scene takes some forethought and a bit of practise to create something that looks half decent, but it's worth  persevering.   Even though Hubby doesn't like this style of stamping. He says they're  too busy for his liking.

My answer is, woodlands are busy places. He obviously doesn't take in the scenery when he is walking through the woods with the dog. ha ha. I'm going to be in trouble for that one.  lol.

My next post will be on how I create these scenes. So pop back in a few days if you're interested in how I did these.

There are also lots of  video tutorials on  Lavinia stamps website.

Beside me.

 

I 've been playing with this new set again. I really like these images. They are nice to colour as well as being really sweet and relatable images. 

I used Copic markers to colour these images.  

The set contains all three of these images along with the birds and seven sentiments.

DSP Bereavement cards

I have found myself needing to make a few bereavement cards this month, We've lost three family members rather suddenly and unexpectedly in the last three weeks.  For these two cards, I chose to use a pretty DSP from Stampin' up! and combined it with a suitable sentiment  from the kindness and Compassion stamp set again from Stampin up!

 

Octagonal cracker

I have an alternative way of gift wrapping for you today.

It's an octagonal cracker. I say cracker, but there is no  snap or crack in this cracker. I'm not so sure it would tear so well if you tried to pull it as the card is a much better quality than used in shop bought crackers. which is why I am describing this as an alternative gift wrap.

To make this cracker you'll need one sheet of A4 card scored  at 1 inch intervals from top to bottom all the way along.

Then in the landscape position, score  at 1  3/4 ,   2  1/4,  and  2  3/4 inches. 

Turn the card round and score again at the opposite end, using the same measurements.

Using an envelope punchboard, line up the little finger on the punchboard with the first  1 3/4 score line. Then fold the card on the first one inch score line,  reposition in the punchboard and punch again. repeat this action on all the 1 inch score lines. See photo below.

Repeat at both ends.  Fold all three score lines back and forth this will make adding the ribbon easier.

Before joining the sides, It's a good idea to decorate each panel, while the project is still flat 

with a paper of your choice. This does not have to be Christmas themed paper, it could also be used to wrap a gift for any occasion. 

 Join the sides.

Add the ribbon at one end. Now you will notice there is still quite a large hole left,  which a slimline gift could fall out. Now you could scrunch up some tissue paper and block the hole, add the gift, then add  more tissue before tie up the end.

  Another option you could use is to cut a circle of card to drop in the cracker before adding the gift, then add another circle before sealing with the second ribbon. 

  

You'll need two , 2 1/4 inch circles for the second method.

Uplines cards

Here's a card sent to me, from my upline to mark my 13th Stampin' up birthday.

Amanda has used a  strips of  DSP to create this one. I love the DSP she has used on this one.

The card below is another card from my Upline marking my 12th birthday, I found this in my craftroom the other day and realized I hadn't posted it. I am loving those iridescent  sequins, all my favourite colours.

Father's day cards

This stamp is from a new stamp set by Stampin' up, it's called   "Beside me". There are three image stamps in the set along a couple of sentiments. I have used two of the images for this post.

 This set will be great for Masculine cards, especially Father's  Day cards. This is my favourite stamp in the set, it reminds me of my dad teaching my brother to ride a bike.

The image below is from the same stamp set. I teamed this image with raindrop embossing folder.

Mini Christmas Tree

I couldn't resist posting this little tree. It was created with the die set  in the photo.

When I first bought this die I thought the small round dies were snowflake dies. Ha ha ha It wasn't until I put the tree boughs together I realized this round dies forms the top of the tree.

 I guess you could use them as snowflakes if need be.

 I bought the tree die because I wanted to create a snowy tree scene in a lantern.  After making this tree I kind of changed my mind. The reason being  I would need to run each die through the bigshot 18 times for one tree.    I had  3 maybe 5 trees for the scene. That's a lot of die cutting and a lot of picking the die cuts out of the dies, and all for one tree that's only 5 inches tall. That's very tedious work.

 Maybe I'll make one tree a month  until I have enough to complete the project.
 

Wintery cards

This post is a continuation of my previous post. I didn't have photos available to add to the previous post when I wrote it. 

 I just wanted to show that you can change things up to create different cards.  You have many options to change things up to give a different look, while keeping the same theme and style.  If you give packs of cards as gifts,  it's nice if they look like a set.

   

On the  7 x 5 inch card above I used a small rabbit, so there was space for a few more trees in the background. I used the Fern branch stamp set for the overhanging branches. I worked on a smaller panel so the rabbit wouldn't get lost. By adhering the panel to a larger card base meant I could add a larger sentiment.

On the next inch 6x 4 card, I changed the rabbit for deer and the overhanging branches are from the willow set. I didn't bother with the clouds over the moon on this one.

On this one I added pink in the sky instead of yellow. I added another row of trees on the left.

For the next one, I used a  skeleton tree branch and added the crow looking down on the rabbit.

I added a touch of peach to the sky on this one.

I didn't add any over hanging branches on this 5 x 7 card for a more desolate look for the wolf.

There is just a hint of pink in the sky on both the wolf cards. I did add a touch of blue to the horizon on these.

As you can see, these cards are all very similar but all quite different. Just but changing a colour, using a different stamp or two or the size. 

You could also change the orientation.