Merry Christmas to you

There's still time to enter the Stencil Monoprint challenge at CAS Mix Up

You don't need to worry if you aren't sure what that is as here are a couple of links to videos to show you how it can be done.

Video Tutorials:

Stencil Monoprints - Lee-Anne Cross (6:50)

Stencil Monoprints Backgrounds with Distress Inks (8:28)

For this card I inked my stencil with a few shades of Distress Oxide inks and gently spritzed with water., I then flipped the stencil over and took a print. This is part of a border stencil. I die cut the rectangle and then used some of the waste for the snowflake. I added a few tiny tiny gems and a simple sentiment! The snowflake is stacked with an extra layer under just the right hand portion which doesn't overlap the rectangle in order to keep it level!

It's a fun technique, why not join us!

 

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!

Butterfly birthday

I have been messing around with the technique required at CAS Mix Up for a few days now.

I had looked through my stencils many times, cut several, both from dies and with my Silhouette Portrait and there was always something not quite right. I found this butterfly file in my Silhouette library and really wanted to use it so I tried cutting it many times in different sizes and using different materials...  (vellum, paper, card etc) but didn't really do very well. There were often bits of the design not cut properly or the material wasn't really suitable for the embossing technique. Anyway, yesterday a package of new blending brushes arrived, (the lovely, very fine bristled sort) so I adapted the technique slightly and I was really pleased with the result. 

I had a stencil cut from vellum, which was a reasonable size and a reasonable cut, so I used it with Distress Oxide Inks and a new blending brush and I was delighted with the outcome. To fulfil the embossing part of the challenge I sprinkled Holographic Embossing powder over the ink and melted with my heat tool.

The brush gave a remarkably clean finish to the inking and as it says wet for quite a while, easily took the embossing powder.

I found a Memory Box butterfly body die and cut one, twinkling it with Glamour Dust before applying.

The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

I think I need a new carrier mat for my Silhouette, I think that may be the reason for some cutting boo boos. I do spray it with repositionable glue from time to time, but I think the surface has nearly got to the point of no return!

Stay well everyone!

 

Stencil Tracing

Well the gals at CAS Mix UP have done it again... they've come up with another technique which is new to me.

For this card I cut a stencil from a piece of vellum and then brushed some Distress Ink over it and then traced partway around some of the apertures with a fine watercolour marker. I have to say it really did highlight some of the cells of the hive for these two fiddly Memory Box bees! I cut the bees from a piece of white card and coloured the individual components with alcohol markers. Once stuck together, I covered them with some Nuvo Crystal Glaze. I used brown and white for the sentiment to keep the colours in line with the theme.

I have been doing more sewing than card making of late... desperately trying to get lots of masks made. I did make some for my son with a clear window in. He is a GP and some of his patients need to lip read, so this one should help.

He has to use some sort of anti-fogging, but a little liquid soap seems to work quite well!

Gilding Flakes

It's a while since I used gilding Flakes and I don't believe that I have ever used them with a stencil before, I think that I have mainly used them with stamps. So to begin this project I cut a stencil from vellum using a Sizzix die. This is actually a die which normally leaves an aperture so it is perfect for using to make a stencil.

I inked through the stencil with Versamark, sprinkled on some Stamp 'N' Bond and heated it. I tipped on some Gilding Flakes and pressed them down firmly, before brushing away and then burnishing with a scoochie thingy. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I wanted to do a sentiment in embossing powder rather than flakes but neither the gold nor the copper were a good match for the flakes so I mixed some of each together. It's not a bad match IRL.

CAS Stencil Challenge

I really love how the girls at CAS Stencil make me think outside the box.

Thank you SO much!

AAA Cards

Wish I was there!

I think that many of us have had this thought recently. 

We haven't seen our grandchildren for weeks.. apart from Facetime chats, but it's not the same as having a cuddle. It's a difficult time for everyone and I hope that we all emerge at the other end with smiles on our faces. In many instances communities have become supportive of each other which is positive indeed.

This card will be on its way to our grandkids very soon!

The challenge at Just US Girls is for Feathers

It's also the theme at Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge which is quite a coincidence!

 

Stay safe everyone!

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!

I like this one more

Here I have some more pieces from the stencil monoprint which I made for the previous card. It seemed such a waste as there was quite a bit left. I simply cut two little squares and added a sentiment from Inkadinkadoo., topped by a triple stacked, foliage diecut from Sizzix. This time I took a deep charcoal for the backdrop.

I must say that when the challenge at CAS Stencil was created, initially, I was less than enthused, but with all the suggested techniques and ideas, for me stencilling has had a complete renaissance. Thank you ladies!

Just Us Girls - Thanks

A couple of cards

Here is another card for the challenge at CAS Stencil which is to use Baby Wipes.

I made a stencil in  vellum from a Sizzix die. After daubing some Pumice Stone Distress Ink onto  a piece of  card, I laid the stencil over it and removed some of the colour with a Baby Wipe. I cut a couple of leaf sprigs, one from some packaging (in fact I think it was the rolled centre of some wrapping paper) and the other from some white card which coloured slightly here and there with some more Pumice Stone ink.

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted and a few tiny pearls finished the card.

This next card is for a few challenges

I took the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch

The Theme from Inspire Create

and the word prompt from Inskirational

I cropped the corners of this card with my We R Memory Keepers 3/8 corner rounder. It matched the contours of my Framelit die cut (which I used for the embossed piece) perfectly.  I actually used a rectangle die but shortened it to make a square. 

I used Paper Mill Direct pearlised card for the base and backdrop of this card. It's a really pale blueish colour. I've had it for ages... waiting for the opportunity to use it! I have so much hoarded away since before their retail outlets closed. The foliage stamp is from Altenew and the sentiment from Avery Elle. I dry embossed the background with a Sizzix/SU embossing folder.

Both of these cards are similar in sentiment and i think that both have  tranquil feel.

Feel better

A short time ago I saw a card using these fabulous fish on the internet and just loved them, so I just had to get them from Rubbernecker. The die which complements them fits amazingly and I am delighted with my purchase.

This card uses the baby wipe and stencil technique as requested at the CAS Stencil challenge. I made a stencil in vellum from a Sizzix die and used it over a daubed Distress Ink backdrop, removing a little colour with a baby wipe. I wasn't too keen on the transition at the top of the inking and so decided to use this La La Land  die to effect the join.

I simply added a little seaweed from a Sizzix die, and a sentiment from Sugar Peas Designs.

New Technique (to me)

The girls over at the CAS Watercolour, Mix Up and Stencil challenges are constantly introducing me to either new techniques or ones I need to revisit. Here is a new one to me... using Distress Inks with a stencil and baby wipes!

To begin, I daubed some Wild Honey Distress ink onto the card, before covering it with a stencil I had made from a Sizzix corner die and some vellum. Holding it still, I gently removed some of the colour through the stencil, using a baby wipe. I think the effect is terrific. I stamped a few blotches over this in the same DI which of course appears a much stronger shade.

The little bees I think are from Memory Box dies... I've had them absolutely ages and never used them... after trying to assemble these I can understand why... there were very fiddly!

I cut them from white card, coloured the components with different alcohol pens and then stuck them together before clear embossing a few times.

The sentiment, stamped in deep deep brown ink, I think may have been a freebie

CAS Stencil - Baby Wipes

A couple of Christmas Cards

Here are another couple of cards for my Christmas supply, each for a different Christmas Challenge.

The first one is home-made, white embossing paste applied through part of a Sweet Poppy Stencil. I added WOW Metallic Embossing glitter and heat set it. This paste spreads really easily, I just hope that I can recreate it when this lot has been used. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz.

It's for the Glitter Challenge at CAS Christmas

 

This next one is for the challenge at Christmas Kickstart

"Dachshund through the snow"

Naturally they would love to see a pooch!

  

Well I have a dog and there is snow, so hopefully it will fit the bill!

.

The tree line die was a freebie from a mag and the dog  is a die from an All Occasion Dies set. The embossed snow is from an embossing folder from Sheena Douglass but sadly is not available at the moment.

Noel

Here is another contribution for the CAS Christmas Challenge, which this time is to use Glitter.

I made some embossing paste, but I think that the recipe could do with a little more glue in it than I used this time... the Gitter didn't adhere to it as much as it would have done to a commercially produced embossing paste. I guess I could just put some more glue in and see what happens. However, I don't mind the result.... in fact I was just pleased that the embossing paste worked out at all as it was the first time that I had tried making it!

I used a Sweet Poppy Stencil for the tree and a Sizzix die for the sentiment! As that is popped on dimensional pads like the tree I layered it to make it a little more robust.

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

Just Us Girls - Circles

Shimmer

Here is another card for the challenge at CAS Stencil.

I had tried unsuccessfully to unblock many of my shimmer sprays (which have not been in use for quite some time) and so finally simply decanted a little into another mister to use on this card. It's Cosmic Shimmer Sunlight Mist. I bought the stencil following a retreat in Swindon with Happy Little Stampers, where Kathy, one of the attendees had just bought it from a local craft store, needless to say I had to purchase one too! I loved it then and love it still. It's from The Crafter's Workshop!

 The diecut flower is from Pink Fresh.

The panel on this card is a save from a bit of a booboo. I was stamping a sentiment for another card and dropped my inkpad onto it. As this is quite thick card I decided to use the other side for this card. Recently I have been using some Hemp cardstock from Paper Mill Direct. The reverse side is not textured, so I decided to emboss it with a plate from Papertrey Ink. After doing it I think I actually prefer the reverse side of this embossing but it was done and so that's that.. I'll remember next time... perhaps!

Several people have emailed recently asking about the card I have been using of late.... if you can't get a textured card in your part of the world, you can always stamp your card and then emboss a texture onto it afterwards, as I have done here. I quite like the dark chocolate cardstock which I used for the card base and die cut, against the subtle gold shimmer!

Wet Saturday

What better way to spend a wet Saturday than in my craft room making cards and listening to a little Finzi... perfect!

This first card is for the challenge at CASe this Sketch

I had stamped the visible Image butterfly some time ago and couldn't decide how to treat it until I saw the sketch at CASe this Sketch and then this ame into my mind!

I inlaid the love die into the front panel by cutting out the first one and replacing it with four plain die cuts, layered on top of each other and finally adding the original on the rest. After this I simply scattered a few tiny seed pearls across this image.

This next card is for the challenge at CAS Stencil.

I made a stencil of uneven chevrons from acetate, using my Portrait. I laid this over my card, masking some of it with paper towels, then sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer Mist in Golden Mint. Actually I was limited in what spray I could use as they have been sitting for quite some time in their box and a lot of the jets were blocked. I managed to get this one functioning by putting the  spray part in hot water and pumping away. It was enough to clear this one but the others were more obstinate. I may end up decanting their contents into other spray bottles.

This in fact was not the card which was sprayed, this is a print that I took from the stencil after I had taken if off the original card! SO I had two images, one positive and one negative.

I cut a couple of leaf sprays, one from card and one from the paper towel I used to mop up the work surface! The sentiment is from Stampin' Up and the butterfly die cut from All Occasion Dies.

The ink I used for the sentiment is Twisted Citron Distress ink... stamped a couple of times to give greater strength of colour. I thought it a good match for the shimmer spray!

Final butterfly card

Here is my third and final card for the CAS Watercolour challenge this month. I've had great fun with this challenge and have tried all sorts of things which didn't work and a few that did!

For this one I cut a large Memory Box Butterfly  from card and once I had taken out all the little insert bits, I put it back into the card I had cut it from, to use as a stencil! I then tapped a few colours of Brushos over it and sprtized liberally with water... probably a bit too much but I still quite like the effect... and I have a fab, messy bit of paper towel to use for another project!!!!

I simply added a bunch of sequins randomly over the image, cut it down to size and mounted it with a stitched die cut frame. The sentiment is from MFT.

Brusho Butterfly

The CAS Watercolour challenge is to create a colourful butterfly.

 

To make this card I used a Sweet Poppy stencil with some Pearlescent White embossing paste. Once I had lifted the stencil, I tapped a few grains of Brusho colours over this in Turquoise, White, Ultra Marine and Cobalt Blue. After waiting for a few moment for the colours to mix the with paste, I then spritzed with water. Over this a sprinkled a little Gold Glamour Dust and left it to dry.

The sentiment is from an old Magenta stamp simply embossed in Gold and cut with a tiny stitched rectangle die. I had to extend this by just a couple of stitches in order to fit around the image completely.

I'm really fond of butterflies for cards so I may be trying another card very soon!

New Die

Just recently I received a new bunch of dies from SImon Says Stamp and I simply love this daisy!( I seem to be doing lots of daisies recently...It's my granddaughter Daisy's last day in Primary School today so maybe I have her on my mind!)

I simply cut it together with a square Framelit die and put a little print from a stencil behind it. I think the delicacy of the print suits the delicacy of the flower. The ink is very shimmery as I added some Inka Gold paste to the mix for the print. The sentiment from Hero Arts is stamped with Brilliance Ink in Pearlescent Sky Blue.

It's for a couple of challenges.

AAA Cards

CASology

 

I have to say that the Shimmer in this card is rather subtle, merely because there's not a lot of it!!