Look Mum, No Stamps!

It's very rare that I make a card without any stamping at all, but I'd die-cut these poppies and waxed them (as they release from the iron they get a lovely schlurpy pattern that looks like frilled petal edges), and stuck them onto a card a bit too far to the right, so I doodled a border to balance, decided not to add a sentiment, then realised I can enter it into Keep It Simple - No Stamps.

I'm also entering it into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

I've got a bit of a poppy thing going on at the moment.  Back tomorrow with another one.

Rosebud Bouquet

It's a new challenge at Seize The Birthday, and this time we'd like you to use twine and/or string.  I've used another stamp that I've made from a three-part set (I've also done a vase and a small bow to go with the bouquet).  The background is a leftover from my resist stamping for Craft Stamper, and the sentiment is from Marion Emberson Designs.

I'm entering this into Shopping Our Stash - Can't Put It Down (Or Away).  I could fill that challenge all on my own between what I can't put down (my stampmaker, although I've run out of supplies now, so it's having a rest), and what never gets put away (most things!) - and I bet I'm not the only one, hmmm?

I'm also playing along with Keep It Simple - Take A Bow.

So come and join us at Seize The Birthday - if you don't want to use string or twine, you can still play anything goes (as long as it's a birthday card).

JOFY Bouquet

This is my third offering for Paper Artsy this week (they'll be thinking I'm stalking them).  This card was inspired by Jan McGregor's card using JOFY stamps, and I've not played with my JOFY stamps for a while so I thought I'd join in.

I'm using the colours from ColourQ as a guide.

My background is made from Mowed Lawn and Broken China Distress Paints, with a swipe of Picket Fence Distress Stain over the top.  The Picket Fence was originally through a stencil, but it was too wet and mushy and leaked under the stencil so I swooshed it over the panel with my fingers.  The stencil had loads of Distress Stain on it so I used it as a stamp instead.  The flowers are watercoloured with Distress Inks.   I added some Frantage embossing powder, Stickles and a hand-written sentiment, and drew a border with marker pen and Signo pen.

I've added a bow, so I can play along with Keep It Simple:

Also, don't forget about the new Mixed Media Card Challenge here :)

Two New Stamps

I've been playing with new stamps.  Or to be more precise, I've been playing with my Teresa Collins Stampmaker and I've been making new stamps.  I bought the machine last November - it was going to be a birthday present but I changed my mind before my birthday, thinking I probably wouldn't use it.  But then it was on offer and I managed to get 35% off, so I decided I needed it after all.  And there it's been, Darnell - languishing in the NBUS department.

Before I get to the detail, (and before I forget!) I'm entering this into Darnell's NBUS challenge which is a friendship theme (there's no sentiment on mine, but flowers are a token of friendship) and Time Out Summer Flowers.

 

So. Two things prompted me to have a go with the machine:  

This fabulous creation by Ruth which was the winning entry in the Craft Stamper Take It Make It potato stamping challenge.  Ruth used gingko cookie cutters, I've drawn some flower shapes and made stamps from the images.

Ruth's card - isn't it fabulous?

The other thing that prompted me was that I wanted a walking boots stamp for male cards and I couldn't find one.  Not one to take the easy route, I decided that I would create my own stamp from a photograph.  Got walking boots, got a camera, got a stampmaking machine.  Easy, right?  Almost. I couldn't fade out the background completely so in the end I printed it out then traced over the photo to get my image.  The quality of the stamp isn't brilliant because I printed the negative on the wrong setting, but I actually like the roughness of it, reminds me of a charcoal drawing.  The photo on the left is what I traced, and the image on the right is the stamped image rather than the traced image.

 So here are a couple of cards I made with the stamp:

I'm entering this first one into One Layer Simplicity Challenge where the theme is I've Been Framed and Keep It Simple, where it's Splatters.

And I'm entering this second card into Simply Less Is More where it's a One Layer Off The Edge challenge, and Just Add Ink where you've to use three out of the five colours.

The HB2U stamp is part of the new release from STAMPlorations.  Look out for our birthday blog hop coming soon!

Sorry it was a mega post but two of the challenges are closing today and it was easier to combine into one "new stamp" post.  Thanks for sticking with it to the end ;)

Guest Designer - Just Us Girls: Week 2 Technique

I'm back for week two of my Guest Designer spot at Just Us Girls. Thanks for the lovely warm welcome last week, ladies!

It's technique week, and the technique to try is Watercolour Stamping - colouring your stamp with marker pens, then huffing or spritzing onto the image and stamping.  It's a pretty easy technique - all you need is an image stamp with some solid areas, and some marker pens.

I used images from Paper Artsy and Tombow pens.  I inked and stamped the flower then masked it while I did the leaves, then splattered some of the colour over the card.  The sentiment and the swoosh stamp are from the new release by STAMPlorations - there's a fantastic pre-release offer, and there will be a birthday blog hop later in the month.

I'm entering my card into Time Out Challenges, where the theme is Summer and Flowers,

and Keep It Simple, where the theme is Splatters (oh, yes! - I think I'll be coming back to this one).

So come on over and join in the JUGS technique challenge (it's a great one to combine with a colour challenge and/or a sketch challenge!).

And More Homework

I'm still on last week's lessons, Days 5 & 6 watercolouring stamped images.  My favourite thing!  For this one I sloshed around a few Distress Inks (Evergreen Bough, Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans) and coloured in the birdie (Dina Wakley), painted a bit of ground and added some stitching.  The background stamp is Tim Holtz and the sentiment is one of the new release stamp sets from STAMPlorations.

I'm entering this into Keep It Simple: Watercolour

And Virginia's View: Stitching

Wonderful Watercolour

I've joined the Online Card Class - Watercolour For Cardmakers.  The techniques are good for watercolour paints or Distress Inks, so you can guess which I went for.  I prefer them to paints, they're more fun to use and more versatile.

Anyway, I tried Jen Rzasa's technique using stencils.  Yep, happy.  Like it.

I'm entering this into Less Is More - use 3 colours or 3 shades of one colour.  I've used Worn Lipstick, Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey.

I'm also entering it into Keep It Simple where the theme is Watercolour,

And Simon Says Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes.

The stamps are from the new release by STAMPlorations.  We're having a blog hop tomorrow, so come back for your chance to win some of the new goodies.

Birthday Waves

A quick and easy card today.  A couple of stamps, paint some Distress Ink waves and you're done!  I'll probably make a few of these in different colour schemes - they'd be great for male cards.  I'm playing along with CAS(E) This Sketch:

I've used one of the three colour options from Make The Day Special:

I'm also entering it into Winnie & Walter Join In To Win

And Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Anything Goes

And another entry into Keep It Simple - Watercolour.

Stamps: Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold and The Happy
Distress Inks: Scattered Straw, Bundled Sage, Evergreen Bough

An umbrella and a bird

Two cards for you today.  This first one started life because of The Card Concept theme - use an umbrella.  Am I too grungy to be clean and layered?

I'm also entering it into Keep It Simple Bright Spark (bright colours or sparkly things)

I bought the Tim Holtz die a few months ago and rather than cut a dark silhouette I wanted to use bright colours.  So I cut it in white, then swooshed it through some spritzed Distress Inks.  Conveniently, some new stamps arrived from STAMPlorations which had the perfect sentiment.  The stamps will be available to buy in May (go here for details of the stamps and a blog hop).

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This next card is for Just Us Girls Colour Challenge (any blue and any orange - my orange is spiced marmalade - sploshed on, of course!).

And it's also for Moxie Fab World - Hip On Handwriting (use your own handwriting or something handwriting-inspired).

Stencilled Thanks

Playing along with a few challenges with this card.  First up is Clearly Besotted Challenge #10, Spring

Next up is Virginia's View Challenge #2, Stencil

Then we have Keep It Simple  Challenge #37, Stencil

And finally, Winnie & Walter Join In To Win, where this week's theme is thank you cards.

I stencilled Evergreen Bough and Scattered Straw distress inks through the Cubist stencil on a white card panel, stamped some Dandelion Dreams in Versafine Onyx Black, then stamped 'thanks' so that it crossed the dandelion stems.  I sponged the edges of the base card, then added the panel, and topped it off with a die-cut butterfly stamped with Butterfly Wishes in distress ink.

Stencil: TCW - Cubist
Stamps: Clearly Besotted Dandelion Dreams, Butterfly Wishes; Winnie & Walter The Big The Bold and The You