Thanks

The theme this month at CAS Mix Up is Things with Wings and is a watercolour challenge.

This means that some form of water colouring should be present.

For my card I chose a favourite old Memory Box die called Chloe and used the backing die to make a stencil from Mylar. I then stamped the script background stamp through the stencil and embossed in white embossing powder. After heat setting I placed the stencil back over the stamping and inked with three shades of Distress Oxide inks using blending brushes. (Salty Ocean, Salvaged Patina and  Tumbled Glass) I then just added a few droplets of water and blotted with a paper towel. I adhered the matching filigree die cut over the inking and added a few tiny pearls.

It's a simple look but It's a little involved to achieve but I'll probably be quicker next time!

Do join in the fun with some water coloured wings over at CAS Mix Up!

 

Happy Birthday

The challenge at Just US Girls this time is to make your own stencil. I didn't actually use dies, as I often do, but used my cutting machine instead. I didn't do a brilliant job and and I've since ordered a new blade, but there was enough which cut properly for my purposes. I used my home made embossing paste and twinkled it with Glamour Dust. This is a link to a video which shows how I made the paste.

https://youtu.be/gfIae0VBFF8

The flowers are by Alexandra Renke and I shaped the bells with an embossing tool and added a little foam tape behind them to keep the shape.

 

CAS Mix Up August Challenge

The other day I had a lovely surprise! I received an email from Loll Thompson, inviting me to join the Design Team at CAS Mix Up. I had decided that I would step down from all Designer obligations for a while as I seemed to have been involved with them for many, many years. However.... could I resist joining the team of my favourite challenge?  No, I could not. SO here I am with my first challenge as a designer with them.

This month it's Jenny's Challenge

Jenny's Message

I love this technique because it adds so much interest and depth to your stencilling. I personally find it easier to use a fairly open pattern to make it easier to get a good impression.

I can't wait to see what you create.

Video Tutorials: 

Crafting While Caffeinated  with Lindsay Adreon

Jennifer Mcguire

 Guest Designers 

Bobby (bits & pieces)

&

Michele (I Card Everyone)

 

The thing that appealed to me so much with this challenge blog is the variety of techniques and  mediums involved with making cards for the challenges. This month's involves something which I have never done before... stamping through a stencil.

The stencil I used is a homemade one which I cut from acetate with my Silhouette Portrait. I used just a portion of it and inked with Distress Oxide ink in Salvaged Patina ink, using a blending brush. With the stencil still in place,  I stamped some splatters from SU's long retired French Foliage stamp set, using Memento London Fog ink. The sentiment, from Clearly Besotted, has been in my stash for quite some time, but must have been NBUS, as I had to condition it following several unsuccessful attempts at getting a decent image. I have always found Loll's method of wiping a new polymer stamp across one's forearm to be the most successful!

The die cuts are from Simply Graphic, a wonderful French company which I recently discovered.

I am grateful for the warm welcome to the team!

Why don't you head over to the CAS Mix Up blog and join in the fun!

 

The sun will come out tomorrow

When my daughter was small, she loved the film Annie. The song which is quoted on this card was one of her favourites and I think that the sentiment is very upbeat and it's an attitude I have had all my life. If today is not a good day... then tomorrow will be better!

I cut a stencil from Mylar using a die to do the raindrops. I simply dabbed some Versamark through the stencil ... I did think of leaving it to dry but decided to add a little clear embossing powder for a little extra shine. The sentiment was computer generated in 'Are you serious' font.

I won a challenge at CAS on Friday a little time ago and so this time I have a Guest Spot with them.  I feel very honoured.

 

Hello

Here is my final rendition for this month's challenge at CAS Mix Up!

I made another stencil from a heart trail die and a sheet of Mylar. I don't have all the colours of Distress Oxide inks, so used a mixture of Oxides and regular Distress inks to add the rainbow colours. I didn't really have a deep enough shade for the indigo and so I mixed a few colours to achieve the depth of colour I wanted. I used fine blending brushes to apply the ink. 

I found a scrap of card which was close to one of the shades in the hearts to add a mount for the image, In fact there's a die cut space in it but there was enough solid card around the edge to make the frame. 

I rummaged through my dies to find a suitable sentiment which would a)fit onto the remaining scrap of yellow card and b) fit into the gap of the inked hearts. This MFT Hello was just right on both counts.  I stacked it onto a couple of white die cuts to add a little definition.

I added a few random, tiny, pearl gems for a little interest. (They are really tricky to spot).

We were about to restart our choir rehearsals last Tuesday, but in the afternoon the government decided that no more than 6 people could meet, despite all the precautionary measures we had in place.

It was a great disappointment. Petitions have been signed, MPs lobbied, social media protests written... it will be interesting to see what happens next!

Have a lovely day

Here's another go at using a home made stencil. I made this one some time ago before I discovered Mylar sheets. I used acetate and cut the design with my Silhouette Portrait.  I kept the die-cut in the die before I used the stencil, so that I would have a narrow white border around the balloon. The first one I tried, had some of the long bars of the stencil right next to the die, which masked and gave an odd shape to the balloon, so I tried again and positioned the stencil so that there would be a little colour all around the edge, even if it was only a touch; it outlined the balloon more definitively.

CAS Mix Up

CASology - Outside

Fab Friday

Addicted to stamps and More

 

Have a lovely day

Recently I was fortunate enough to have one of my cards selected as the winner at AAA Cards. With this came an invitation to be a Guest Designer for one of their challenges, so here I am!

Somewhere along the line, I got muddled with the 'optional twist' for this challenge, so I'm afraid that this card doesn't adhere to that part of the game and is simply One Corner.

I began by making a stencil in vellum from a Sizzix die and then brushed some Twisted Citron Distress through it over one corner of the card. The tiny butterflies from All Occasion  dies, were cut from a piece of card which I had smooshed with inks with a touch of Inka Gold. The sentiment is from Sugar Pea Designs, stamped with distress ink. A few tiny gems in the centre of the butterflies and it was done.

I am really grateful to have such a super challenge available for CAS cards and to have it full of such wonderful inspiration! Many thanks to Jane and the team!

Do take care everyone, it has been a long road through the trials of Covid 19, but I think that we must remain vigilant until given the all clear by the powers that be!

Do Stay Safe!

Just a note

I always try to get at least one card made for each challenge at CAS Mix Up as they really make me think outside the box, for both ideas and techniques.

For my card I used a sphere die from Altenew to make a stencil (I do have the actual stencil from Altenew as well, but preferred the smaller size of the die for this particular project). I brushed on some Shabby Shutters Distress ink then used the stencil to add more of the same colour but this time applying with a sponge dauber. The SSS leaves were cut from some scrap DP and then inked a little with more green and a touch of gold.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.

I based the design on the sketch from Colours and Sketches

Today we are going to meet our son and his wife and daughter for lunch. This will be the first time that we have eaten out for over 6 months. It feels a little odd. we are fortunate that our area is not as restricted as many in the UK, but we must still be vigilant.

What strange times!

Stay safe everyone!

Gold Embossing

Here I combined a few challenges.

I made a stencil from a die using vellum and then inked through it onto black card and embossed in gold. I found an odd snippet of manuscript card in my left over card drawers and so utilised the sketch from Fab Friday... I had to alter the positioning a little because of a) the tiny back sentiment strip and b) the position of the staves on the manuscript die cut. I hope this is permissible. I would have liked to use the sketch exactly, so I may do another card for that.

My son and family should have been flying to friends in the States for a skiing break in Maine today, but their host found himself in quarantine (with flu like symptoms) and so they have had to cancel and remain home... not very happy bunnies! Not very happy for their friend either!

               CAS Stencil                      

 Fab Friday Sketch        

 ABC Christmas

       Embossing & Gold  

Just US Girls

 

Congratulations

Something very strange happened!

I completed this post and published it... having linked it to the challenges it was created for. Today only the card is apparent, with no text whatsoever.

Many thanks to Loll for visiting  pointing out that lots was missing!

SO.... I made a stencil from vellum and  a Memory Box die. I sponged through Distress Inks in WIld Honey and Spiced Marmalade, then overstamped with an old stamp from SU's (long since retired) Gorgeous Grunge set. The bees are also from Memory Box and are the fiddliest things to assemble! They are cut from white card, then coloured with alcohol markers and topped with Nuvo Crystal Glaze. The sentiment is from Sugar Pea Designs.

The challenges I'm linking to are ...

CAS Mix Up

AAA Cards

CASe This Sketch

 

Addicted to Stamps and More

It's a total mystery to me as to where the text from my original post went to... technology will never cease to astound me!

Fun with stencils

Those gals over at CAS Mix Up certainly keep us on our toes. The task this month is to create a stencil from a die cut.

In fact the card which I made for the challenge at CAS Stencil last time would have fitted for this challenge too!

I'm very fond of creating stencils with my dies, particularly when using embossing paste as it reduces on clean up time as I just toss out the stencil, which I cut from vellum. However this time I decided not to use embossing paste (maybe that will come later) but to use gilding flakes.

Firstly I cut the stencil from vellum using a Sizzix die. Once cut, I taped it to a piece of black card and stamped over the die cut part with Versamark. After lifting the stencil, I sprinkled on some Stamp 'n' Bond and melted it with my heat gun. I added some gilding flakes and burnished them with a  scoochie or whatever it is they call those funny little pad thingies. I chose a die by Alexandra Renke, which I think echoes the shapes of the background, (to make the focal point) and stamped a simple sentiment.
Addicted to Stamps and More

A New Stencil

The challenge over at CAS Stencil is to use a new Stencil!

Well this one couldn't be much newer as I only made it this morning and I haven't previously used the die to make a stencil either...in fact I think it's the first time the die has been used.

It's from Memory Box  and I cut the stencil from a piece of vellum. I wanted to use embossing paste but my homemade pot had dried up a little too much and although I tried to reconstitute it, it wasn't playing ball. I managed to dig out an old pot of Poppy Stencil embossing paste, but that too was on its last legs, but it just about coped.  I sprinkled on some WOW embossing powder and heat set it. The joy of using vellum stencils for embossing paste means that there is no clean up afterwards... I just toss the lot into the bin. The palette knife is the only thing that needs a wipe. The foliage die is by Alexandra Renke, which I stacked, adding a deep green bottom layer which I offset slightly. I simply added a few tiny pearls to the berry sections of the die cut.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.

Job Done!

The design actually used the sketch from Case this sketch but inverted!