Mellow Yellow

Hi everyone, this month’s ATC swap in the Visible Image FB group has a theme of Mellow Yellow - to make a monochrome yellow ATC using only Visible Image stamps, stencils and/or dies. As usual I also made a co-ordinating card to send to my swap partner.

I’ve made a number of daffodil and tulip cards recently so I wanted to go in a different direction - I decided to use my newish daisy stamp and add some bees. I also wanted to give the card a slightly more grungy vibe rather than too “pretty pretty” as my swap partner this month is male. Here they are.

First the ATC …

I cut a piece of stamping card slightly smaller than a standard ATC, and stamped the grunge daisy to one side. I then masked the daisy and created a smoosh Distress Oxide background applied with acetate, and added background honeycomb stamping using Versafine Clair in Cheerful. I coloured the centre of the daisy with Posca sparkle pens and the petals with clear Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, then added dots to the centre with white Posca and black fineliner. I stamped the bee onto separate card, coloured with Posca sparkle pen and the wings with my Spectrum Noir pen, then fussy cut and attached - I do have the coordinating dies but didn’t want a white border on the bees for this project. I stamped the sentiment and spatters in black, added some white Posca highlights, then some black doodling. Finally I added some yellow sparkle Posca spatters, and when dry matted onto a black and yellow border.

Stamps: Visible Image Daisy Grunge, Bee Happy;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Cheerful); Posca sparkle pens (yellow, orange); Spectrum Nour sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white); fine liner pen (black).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Crafty Gals #254 - Anything Goes 

Creative Inspirations (April) - The Season of Spring (2nd entry)

Creative Knockouts #519 - Spring Is In the Air (2nd entry)

Four Seasons (April) - Anything Goes Spring with optional Mood Board

(I have been inspired by the daisies)

Outlawz (April) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone 

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2415 - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Crafters - Showers or Flowers (2nd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #643/644 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Here is the co-ordinating card.

This used largely the same method and supplies as the ATC on a larger scale, stamping the whole daisy onto the card and adding two larger bees from the same stamp set.

Both of these are actually pretty sparkly but I can’t capture that on the photos at all!

Challenges I would like to enter:

613 Avenue Create (April) - Anything Goes with option Splash of Colour

Addicted to Stamps and More #466 - Make Your Mark

Allsorts #776 - Spring (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #16 - Anything Floral Goes

Card Concept #206 - April Flowers  (daisies) 2nd entry)

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (April) - Flower Power

Simon Says (Monday) - Make Your Own Background (3rd entry)

Stamping  Sensations (April) - Spring Mood Board (2nd entry)

(I have been inspired by the daisy)

We Love Stamping (April) - Spring (2nd entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

I Spy With My Little Eye #14

Hi everyone, Easter has been and gone, April is here with the promise of spring and it’s the third Wednesday in the month again, so it’s time for a new I Spy With My Little Eye... challenge over at Ellibelle's Corner.  Thanks so much to everyone who joined in last time … please do check over on Ellie’s blog to see if you are one of our top picks. 

I have chosen the challenge theme this month, and it is

I Spy With My Little Eye 

*** Something With Wings ***

Plenty of options there including birds, butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, angels or even aeroplanes!  … so we do hope you will join in. Please do pop over to Ellie's blog to see her fab creation and link up your entries here. 

We also have two guest designers joining us this month - Steph and  Liz - so please click on their names to visit their blogs and see their fabulous interpretations of the theme. 

I specifically wanted to use both a particular fairy (Lavinia “Sky”) and tree stamp which were kindly gifted to me by a dear bloggy friend during a destash (she knows who she is❤️), also because the fairy stamp includes a bird as well for extra challenge brownie points!! I decided to incorporate both of these into a spring scene - here it is.

I cut a 14.5cm square of stamping card and masked a square, then created the hills and sky using acetate masks and blended Elements and Distress inks. I removed the mask and stamped  Sky in one corner, then positioned paper copies of my mini hill masks so I could stamp the trees on the hillsides. I added leaves to one of the trees and blossom to the background copse using the tiny blossom stamps in the Lavinia set “Spring Trees”, inked with Distress Oxide inks. I then masked the bottom of the inked panel and stamped two rows of bluebells using lilac and blue DOX to add depth, then added a few bluebell tips to the hillsides. I shaded the sun with yellow DOX and coloured Sky’s wings with Zig pens and Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, then added some gel pen highlights to the scene. Finally I stamped the birds, added white pencil highlights to the fairy and birds, added a stamped sentiment and matted onto a black frame and card blank.

I’m absolutely in love with this fairy and would doubtless have bought her eventually if I hadn’t been the lucky recipient of a destash gift … in fact I did already own her, but in a different guise!! (Yes I really do have fairies at the bottom of the garden!!)

Stamps: Lavinia Sky, Skeleton Tree Scene, Spring Trees, Bluebells, Bird Collection, Birds; Visible Image Birthday Wishes; tree on left - unknown (gift);

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Olive, Lime Punch, Della Blue); Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass); Distress Oxide inks (Bundled Sage, Mowed Lawn, Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Shaded Lilac, Blueprint Sketch, Squeezed Lemonade); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Pinecone, Acorn); Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour pens; Sakura Sparkle pen (yellow);  Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen (clear); Stabilo All pencil (white); gel pen (white);

Tools: Lavinia Acetate Mini Hills masks; Lavinia Acetate Circle masks; Press To Impress square mask.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #776 - Spring 

Card Concept #206 - April Flowers (bluebells)

Creative Inspirations (April) - The Season of Spring

Creative Knockouts #519 - Spring Is In the Air

Dream Valley #314 - Make It Female

Fab ‘n’ Funky #593 - Add a Sentiment (2nd entry)

Festive Fridays (April) - Spring Is In the Air

Four Seasons (April) - Anything Goes Spring

Heart’s Quest Celebrations of Love #4 - Birthday (2nd entry)

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #4 - Anything Fantasy Goes

Papercraft #105 - Fairies and Other Mystical Beings

Simon Says (Monday) - Make Your Own Background (2nd entry)

Stamping  Sensations (April) - Spring Mood Board 

(I have been inspired by the pink blossom and green fields)

We Love Stamping (April) - Spring

Word Art Wednesday #643/644 - Anything Goes 

(2nd entry)

The I Spy challenge will end on the Sunday before the next challenge starts at 23:59 US Central Time - so this time that is Sunday May 12th, and the next challenge will begin on Wednesday May  15th.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Pastel floral

Hi everyone, today I would like to share a floral card, the first I have made using an AALL & Create set I have wanted for a while and finally bought in the A&C Easter sale.

I cut a piece of stamping card 6.5” x 4.5” and created a smoosh background with green and lilac Distress Oxide inks. I stamped the focal flower, then stamped again onto separate card, coloured the flower head with Zig markers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, then fussy cut out. I added some soft lilac stencilling and background circle stamping in grey, then stamped the birdie in the bottom right corner and added some white Posca spatters. I die cut a grungy circle frame from my new “Heart Nook” set using aqua mirri card and attached, then attached the coloured flower head using silicone glue for dimension and scrunched silver thread.

I stamped and heat embossed the birthday sentiment, cut out and attached, then matted the finished panel onto a black border and 7” x 5” card blank. Finally I added a few dew drop gems - something I have wanted for ages but not seen any small packs but finally found some last week in the Crafter’s Companion shop!!

Here’s an angled pic to show the sparkly flower.

Stamps: AALL& Create #924 Flower Trio, #531 Textured Florals; Tracy Evans Boutique Designs TE4 New Beginnings; sentiment - Text{ures} by Lou Collins “Typography”;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Shaded Lilac, Cracked Pistachio); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist); Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour pens; WOW white detail embossing powder; Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white);

Tools: AALL & Create die #35 Heartnook; Darkroom Door stencil - Diamonds;

Other: Crafter’s Companion dewdrop gems.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Addicted to Stamps and More #465 - Die Cuts and/or Stencils

As You Like It - Favourite Cute or Floral (and why) (2nd entry)

(Floral all the way for me … so many colours and varieties, suitable for all occasions)

Craft Rocket #113 - Layer It Up

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (April) - Use a Stencil with option Spring Flowers

Dragonfly Dreams (April) - Use a Die

Everybody Art #555 - Numbers (2nd entry)

Fab ‘n’ Funky #593 - Add a Sentiment

Heart’s Quest Celebrations of Love #4 - Birthday

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #191 - Happy Birthday

Simon Says (Monday) - Make Your Own Background

Sisterhood of Crafters - Showers or Flowers

Triple B (April) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms (2nd entry)

Unicorn #97 - Use Dies

Word Art Wednesday # 643/644 - Anything Goes

That’s my lot for today - take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Tag It!

Hi everyone, this month’s ATC swap theme in the Tracy Evans FB group is Tag It - ie. incorporate a tag onto each ATC. The tag could be a stamp, die or even hand cut …. however I happen to own one Tracy tag stamp which is an ideal size for use on ATC’s and which has never been inked up until now, so that was always going to be the centrepiece of my design. 

I stamped the tag 4 times onto cream stamping card and  cut out, then stamped my flowers onto each one. I stamped the flowers again onto separate cream card, coloured the flower heads with distress watercolor pencils then fussy cut and attached to the tags after I had distressed the edges of the tags with Scorched Timber Distress Oxide. I cut 4 pieces of kraft card stock each 3.5” x 2.5” and added background stamping using parts of stamps, then blended more Scorched Timber DOX round the edges before attaching the tag. I stamped and cut out the pen nib 4 times, coloured with watered down DOX then attached. I finished by adding a twine bow to each tag (using twine from Tracy’s stamp packaging😀), white gel pen highlights to the flowers and Glossy Accents to the pen nibs.

Here’s a closeup of the individual ATC’s.

Stamps: AALL & Create #984 Tag O Tag, #904 Flower Journey, #908 Quill Ends, #449 Through the Meadows (background);

Media: Versafine Clair (Pinecone); Tim Holtz Distress watercolor pencils (Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Fired Brick, Picked Raspberry, Villainous Potion); Distress Oxide inks (Scorched Timber, Antique Linen); gel pen (white); Glossy Accents.

Challenges I would like to enter:

As You Like It - Favourite Cute or Floral (and why)

(I just love all flowers as they are so pretty and versatile for cardmaking)

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (6th entry)

Double Trouble #163 - Let’s Get Krafty

Everybody Art #555 - Numbers

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2414 - Anything Goes

Sheepski #85 - Anything Goes

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage (4th entry)

Triple B (April) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms

We Love 2 Create #3 2024 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes

These are now packaged up and ready to go … all I need now is a respite in the appalling rain so I can venture out to the post box!

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Typographic Birthday

Hi everyone,  today I would like to share a very simple card I made with the cover gift stamp set with this month’s “Creative Stamping” magazine. I never normally buy craft magazines, in fact I haven’t bought one for years, but I do glance at them if I’m passing a magazine stockist. I was really taken with the stamp set this month which consists of typewriters, various sentiments in typewriter font, and other co-ordinating decorative elements. There is also a small double stencil set which I also really like so overall the magazine was a great buy.  Here’s my first make with them … very straightforward and quick, but the stamps stamped beautifully so I’m very pleased with how it turned out.

I cut a 5” square of white stamping card and stamped the typewriter and sentiment, then stamped background text in opposite corners. I stencilled the jumbled letters in red then matted onto black and red card stock and a card blank - that’s it! It usually takes me hours to make a card as I’m a slow crafter, so this was a refreshing change as I fitted it in whilst I was supposedly clearing the table! This stamp set has the potential to make much more intricate cards too, so hopefully there will be more to come.

Stamps: Text{ures} by Lou Collins “Typography”;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Barn Door); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Tulip Red);

Tools: stencil - Text{ures} by Lou Collins “Typography”.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Crafts Galore Encore #122 - Anything Goes

Creative Knockouts #518 - Birthday Wishes!

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #191 - Happy Birthday

Krafty Chicks #710 - Stamps

Love to Craft #79 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (5th entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2413 - Anything Goes

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Happy Birthday!

Simply Clean & Simple (April) - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Bunnies and Blooms

Hi everyone, here I am today with another 2 Easter cards … I just seem unable to stop playing with my daffodil stamps right now as they really lift my spirits! I set out to make one with my gel press but after several failed attempts, when I eventually got a print I was happy with there was enough ink left on the gel plate to take a second paler print … so I made another similar card in paler colours with a few tweaks to make it different.

Here’s the first one.

I brayered two colours of Elements ink onto my gel press and spattered with some watered down Elements, then took the prints on 5.5” squares of white stamping card. I stamped my daffodils onto the circle then stamped again onto separate card, coloured with Zig pens and Wink of Stella, then fussy cut out. I masked the circle and added a little background stamping in 2nd generation blue then attached the coloured flowers. Finally I added the bunnies which I highlighted with white pens, added the sentiment, doodled round the circles with fine liner and matted onto coordinating card stock and a 6” card blank. 

Here's an angled pic to show the sparkle.

Stamps: Visible Image Golden Daffodils, Where Flowers Bloom; Lavinia Wild Hares Set (Large); sentiment - See-D;

Media: Lavinia Elements Ink (Blue Lagoon, Sahara); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Blue Belle); Kuretake Clean Colour Zig Watercolour pens; Wink of Stella; gel pen (white); fine liner pen (blue);

Tools: Lavinia Roland gel press.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (5th entry)

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (March) - Mad March Hare (hares, rabbits or Easter) (2nd entry)

Crafting Happiness #168 - Bunnies

Craftlandia #18 - Easter

Creatalicious #275 - Anything Goes with option Easter (3rd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals (4th entry)

Shopping Our Stash #518 - Spring Has Sprung (2nd entry)

Simply Create Too #198 - Bunnies and Blooms

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Crafters - Bunnies and/or Chicks

... and the second one.

This one is the second generation print from the gel press, so I coloured the flowers in paler shades. 

Stamps: Visible Image Golden Daffodils, Sketched Tulips; Lavinia Lupin; sentiment - See-D;

Media: As above.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (March) - Mad March Hare (hares, rabbits or Easter) (3rd entry)

Crafty Gals’ Corner #253 - Anything Goes

Love to Scrap #166 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Paper Funday #63 - Anything Goes (3rd entry) - TOP 3

Papercraft Challenge #104 - Easter

Sheepski #84 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter whatever you're doing. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Vintage Spring Delights

Hi everyone, this month’s Tracy Evans FB ATC swap is on the theme of “Spring Delights” which gave me another opportunity to break out my “Elegant Spring Florals” set, including inking up the lovely tulip stamp for the first time. I came up with 2 coordinating designs and actually made 8 ATC’s - 4 for the swap plus 4 more to trade privately … my largest ATC series to date!! I also decided to go off piste slightly with a vintage look for my spring ATC’s instead of pastel colours.

I created smoosh backgrounds with Distress Oxide inks on a couple of large snippets, and cut into 8 pieces each slightly smaller than a standard ATC. Onto each one I stamped “Bulb Gazette” using Golden Meadow Versafine Clair, then stamped either a daffodil or tulip in Pinecone. I coloured the stems with Distress watercolour pencils, then stamped the flower heads onto separate card, coloured with Distress watercolour pencils, cut out and attached. I added a little stencilling to the background in green, added white gel pen highlights to the flowers, and edged each piece with blended DOX in Scorched Timber to add to the vintage feel. I stamped my flower words onto separate cream card, cut out, distressed and attached, then matted each piece onto dark brown pearlescent card stock cut to standard ATC size.

Stamps: AALL & Create #623 Elegant Spring Florals, #907 Bulb Gazette;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Scorched Timber); Distress watercolor pencils (Barn Door, Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint); Versafine Clair (Pinecone, Golden Meadow, Nocturne); gel pen (white);

Tools: AALL & Create stencil #124 Lotza Diamondz.

Here’s a closeup of each design.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #773/4 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (4th entry)

Craftlandia #18 - Easter or Anything Goes - WINNER

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (March) - Use Stencils (2nd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals (3rd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Shopping Our Stash #518 - Spring Has Sprung

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Easter/Spring (2nd entry)

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage (2nd entry)

Challenges I would like to enter:

C.R.A.F.T. #713 - Easter/Spring  (2nd entry)

Creative Crafting Uncles #51 - Spring and/or Easter (3rd entry)

Creative Fingers #274 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2412 - Anything Goes

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage (3rd entry)

We Love 2 Create #2 2024 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (4th entry)

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes 

I love taking part in this ATC swap as I so enjoy making them with Tracy’s stamps, and the ATC’s I receive back have all been really beautiful so far. 

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Dare To Be Different

Hi everyone, today I would like to share the card I made for a one-off card swap that was organised on the Tracy Evans FB page, where the idea was to use Tracy’s latest own-brand stamps as the focal point for the design. The organiser was fellow group member Fiona, whose blog I already know well, and it turned out that she was also my swap partner. I very much admire Fiona’s lovely creations so I was really excited about the swap.

I decided to use the cute new Quirky Birds, and wanted to create something really different, I had an idea of placing a brightly coloured bird amongst several plain ones on a grey background, to emphasise the concept that the colourful one “dares to be different”. 

I created a smooshed background with several shades of grey and black Distress Oxides, then stamped and heat embossed a bird at each side. I stamped and heat embossed the bird with hearts onto separate card, coloured with Zig pens and Spectrum Noir sparkle pen then fussy cut out. 

I wanted to mount the coloured bird onto a rainbow coloured background and played around with die cut circles, but then hit on the idea of using the branched heart. I stamped it and heat embossed both on the inked background and on separate white card, then coloured the heart on white card with Zig pens, spattered with water then fussy cut. I attached the heart and bird to the centre of the card, and added some background stamping in grey and a couple of words in black. 

I stamped the main sentiment onto separate card, masking it so I could stamp the word “different” in rainbow colours (very fiddly, but worth it!), then cut out, edged and attached. Finally I stamped, cut out and attached some little hearts, added some white gel pen highlights, then matted the finished panel onto black and silver card stock and a 7” x 5” card blank.  

Here's an angled pic to show the sparkle.

I also decorated the inside of the card ...

... and the envelope.

Stamps: Tracy Evans Boutique Designs TE10 Quirky Birds, TE6 Branched Heart; AALL & Create #533 Bring On the Sentiments, #531 Textured Florals;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist, Tulip Red, Summertime, Cheerful, Rainforest, Blue Belle, Twilight, Monarch); Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); gel pen (white).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Colourful Options (March) - Rainbow Inspired - TOP 3

Creative Inspirations (March) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Creative Knockouts #517 - Sparkle and Shine

Lost Coast Portal To Creativity #183 - Let's Fly (2nd entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2411 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Paper Funday #63 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Time Out #259 - Birds of a Feather

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes (5th entry)

This card is really quite left field for me but I had a lot of fun and enjoyed making it, and can share it now that it has arrived safely.

Whilst making the above card I did a bit of experimenting with Zig pens scribbled on acetate and spritzed with water. I didn’t use the results on the card, but with some leftover ink on my acetate I created a mop up background on a scrap of card, and decided to make a quick and simple ATC with it … here it is.

I created a mop up background on a scrap of card with Zig pens scribbled on acetate, then cut the inky background to 3.25” x 2.25”. I added silhouette stamping flower, beetle and background text, then stamped the sentiment onto separate card, cut out and attached. I added white gel pen highlights and a touch of sparkle pen before matting onto a black border - job done!

 

Stamps: Woodware Mini Floral Silhouettes, Additions (background text), Blooming (sentiment);

Media: Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; Versamark Clair (Nocturne, Charming Pink); gel pen (white); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #7734/774 - Keep It Simple

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (3rd entry)

Creative Fingers #274 - Anything Goes

Little Red Wagon #748 - Florals (2nd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Outlawz (March) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone (3rd entry)

We Love 2 Create #2 2024 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (3rd entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,