STAMPlorations Inspiration #73

Guess what - more Groovy Shoes!  And more Mark Schwartz-inspired technique.  For this one, I needed my MISTI.  Firstly I inked the shoe with coloured Distress Inks, stamped, spritzed lightly and once it was dry, inked the stamp with Black Soot, stamped and spritzed very lightly.

The dotty background is from the ARTplorations Dots All Over stencil to echo the pattern on the strip  of washi, and the border is Tim Holtz Tissue Tape.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for more fabulous inspiration, and don't forget to leave a comment there for a chance to win a gift voucher.

STAMPlorations Stamp Release, Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Ok, today's the day that you get to see all of the STAMPlorations Inspiration Design Team's creations with these new stamps in our Blog Hop!  So much inspiration in one place - you'll be wowed!

Did you see Shery's new set, Trendy Feathers 2, on Monday?  Here's what I made:

It's also a CASE of Donna Mikasa's CASEplorations card for April (five half-coloured feathers, five colours, sentiment, splatter) - if you haven't joined in yet, there's still time...

On Tuesday it was my turn to showcase Groovy Shoes.  I went all Warholesque with this one:

Pretty obvious - stamp, colour, stick.

Then on Wednesday Deepti showcased her new set, Smile.  Here's what I made:

I stamped that gorgeous lily image onto mixed media paper in Antique Linen, then watercoloured it with Distress Inks and painted out the background with black gesso.  It's becoming quite a habit with me, this black gesso thing.  Here's a close-up:

Then yesterday, Becca was showcasing her Strong Women set.  Here's my card:

Well, that sentiment's just made for birds, isn't it? The chick looks like it's taking its first flight.   I stamped the kingfisher first, then the chick, then drew in branches and tree trunks and painted in some leaves.  The 'fly high' sentiment is from Shery's Art Marks set.

Make sure you leave us all a comment for maximum chances to win fab prizes!  Click here for the main STAMPlorations post with links to all our blogs, and good luck!

Guest Designer at CAS(E) This Sketch!

Hi peeps!  I'm delighted to be guest designer at CAS(E) This Sketch today!  I stuck to Hannelie's sketch, honest - can you see the likeness?  The balloon in the large top right quadrant, the sentiment bottom right, the bird bottom left with the hand-drawn string helping to define the quadrant, and white space top left.

The balloon is a die-cut from MFT Die-Namics Balloon STAX, the bird is from The Bee's Knees SmallBirds, and the sentiment is from Penny Black Salutations.

Pop on over to the CAS(E) This Sketch blog for some fabulous inspiration from the Design Team, and join in.

Thanks for having me, girls!

The Bee's Knees New Release - Groovy Shoes - and a Giveaway!

Today's the Day!  It's the launch of my latest stamp set, Groovy Shoes over at STAMPlorations.

So retro - it takes me back!  I've got a few cards for you today, I just couldn't stop playing with these stamps :) Sit back and enjoy the show!

If you're wearing groovy shoes, you need some equally groovy trews! (BTW I've just looked up the word 'trews' and have learned that they were originally Scottish military trousers, usually tartan, but to us growing up in northern England, 'trews' was just slang for trousers.  Funny what you learn in the course of cardmaking and blogging!)

Anyway, my trews had to be floral, in keeping with the groovy flower-power theme.  I cut a negative mask, stamped the flowers then painted the background with Distress Inks.

Remember those Dr Scholl wooden exercise sandals?  You could also buy clip-on flowers for them, that's why there are some flowers included in the set.

In my teens I used to have a pair of wedge-heeled shoes just like these, made from beige suede (not the best choice in rainy England, but I loved them anyway).  I did a bit of selective inking on the shoe with Brushed Corduroy, omitting the far side of the shoe and strap, then lightly pencilled in the leg and painted it with a wash of Brushed Corduroy.  The sentiment comes from the latest STAMP Club set, Born To Roam.  The panel is matted onto chocolate brown card then onto the white card base.  I think this is my favourite so far :)

For this card I stamped and white-embossed the flower images, then sloshed some Distress Ink watercolours around, adding a bit more colour to the flowers to make them stand out.  The panel is edged with Pickled Raspberry.

And finally, a bit of fun.  This one took on a life of its own.  I'd stamped the shoes, then decided I should draw some legs.  This was before I made my other 'leg' cards, and I hadn't thought about masking the far side of the shoes, so I just added some flower toppers then drew in a painted toe in each shoe.  The sentiment is from Art Marks.

Fancy your chances at winning this set?  Leave me a comment here, and also on the STAMPlorations post, where you'll see the prizes on offer.  Keep checking back on the STAMPlorations blog all week - Shery was showcasing her new stamp set yesterday, it's Deepti's turn tomorrow, Becca's on Thursday, then we're having a blog hop party on Friday - not to be missed!  There'll be more inspiration from the four of us, and also from Cornelia, Maria, Monika, Kim and Vicki!  And more chances to win prizes!

STAMPlorations Inspiration #72

We've got some more inspiration for you over at STAMPlorations.  It's Stamp Release Week, starting with Shery's Trendy Feathers set yesterday, and if you pop back here in one hour's time, I'm showcasing my new set, Groovy Shoes.  This card is a little taster for you.

I've been fascinated with the artwork of Mark Schwartz, shoe designer and artist.  I love the way he lets the lines and colours bleed.  This is one of my many attempts at recreating the technique.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration, and don't forget to leave a comment there for a chance to win a gift voucher.  Then pop back in an hour!

Don't forget to pop back here in one hour for more Groovy Shoes!

Showcased at Online Card Classes, and a Floral Background

Online Card Classes have launched their new website, and I'm thrilled to have one of my cards from the Watercolour for Cardmakers class featured on their gallery page!  You'll have to scroll all the way down the page to see - my card is bottom left.  My original post is here.

Bragging over, on to today's card.  The lovely Bev from Happy Dance made a gorgeous card for three challenges, and it prompted me to make my own version.  I am now the proud owner of some Altenew stamps, albeit freebies from a magazine.  The set contains a three-part layered rose, a three-part layered leaf, a rose die, a leaf die and some sentiments.

I stamped the middle rose and middle leaf stamps with Distress Inks (Pickled Raspberry, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint) onto mixed media paper then spritzed lightly with water.  The bleed varied depending on the amount of water I was spritzing.  The birthday die-cut is a Winnie & Walter Cutaway, and the 'wishes' is from STAMPlorations Sentiment Builders: Love.

So, thanks to Bev, I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Colour Throwdown (why have I never played here before????)

Task For Two Tuesday - Make Your Own Background

and CAS(E) This Sketch (flip it, stretch it!)

I'm over at A Sprinkle of Imagination with another card today.  Here's a sneak peek:

Mixed Media Card Challenge Reminder

Have you played along with The Mixed Media Card Challenge?  There's still time, you know.  Our challenge this month is Sunshine with an option of bricks.

I started with an abstract gelli print background which was mainly in lime and teal with a touch of purple acrylic paints, then stencilled brickwork (Winnie & Walter) using Dylusions Melted Chocolate paint.  The sun was created by twisting a mini blender and Dylusions Lemon Zest, then I scribbled around the sun and the bricks with a black fineliner.

The JOFY flower was already coloured (probably with Distress Inks) and sitting waiting patiently in my stash for its moment of glory, but I think it's being outshone (geddit? sunshine?) by that crazy bird.

I wrote the sentiment with black pen, then added some white highlights and went around the edges of the panel with black Neocolour II and a wet paintbrush.  I added a couple of pieces of ripped washi tape to finish.

Pop on over to the Mixed Media Card Challenge blog for inspiration, and join in with our challenge, why don't you?