Seize The Birthday - Add A Star

Hey, peeps, it's time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday.  Cathy is our host for this challenge and she wants us to add a star to our birthday project.

This card sort of fell together.  I've been having a massive sort-out in my craft room (but you'd never know it), and the white and red panel had landed near the red and yellow dotted paper.  The stamped and coloured Eiffel Tower panel was nearby.  I rummaged through my stash of stars and found that this Tim Holtz star mimicked the shape of the Eiffel Tower perfectly.  The penny farthing is a printout that's been in my stash for ages, and the diecut birthday sentiment is from The Stamp Market.

I had to add some bling to my tower to remind me of seeing it light up and sparkle when Jenny and I took a night-time open-top bus trip in Paris last year, quite a magical experience.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team and from our surprise party guests, and join in the fun.  If stars aren't your thing, you can still join in with any birthday-themed project.

Visible Image - Christmas Release

It's Chriiissstmaaasss!  and it's not even July :)

Visible Image have brought out a fabulous Christmas stamps release in plenty of time for you to get ahead with your Christmas cards, and were giving you two whole weeks of inspiration.  For my card I've used two of the stamps, Sketched Baubles and Sketched Backgrounds, which complements the Sketched Baubles set beautifully.

I started by stamping the baubles, string and tops in Versafine Onyx Black, then painted the baubles with PaperArtsy Mattints, which are a tinted glaze.

Next, I prepared my background.

I used the medium circle from Sketched Backgrounds, and starting with the yellow, I stamped randomly around the edges of the card, then the lilac, leaving the blue till last as it's the strongest colour, so I could be more selective with placement.

The tints give a nice translucent colour to the baubles.

Here are all the products I used.

I hope this has inspired you for your Christmas card makes.  The team will be sharing more fabulous Christmas makes over the next two weeks to inspire you, so make sure you don't miss them.  The stamps are available on the Visible Image store.

Seize The Birthday - Double Stencilling

Hi peeps!  Time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday and Barbara has chosen Double Stencilling - i.e. add colour through one stencil, and before you lift it, add another stencil on top and add colour through that.

I stamped the image (Imala, Stamps By Me) then added Twisted Citron distress ink through the Tim Holtz Splotches stencil, left that in place and layered the TH Code stencil in Picked Raspberry, then sloshed the same colours onto the dress and added a bit of splatter.  Of course.  And a bit of credit card scratch with black ink.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fabulous examples of double stencilling from the design team and our surprise party guests, and join in the fun.

If you don't fancy trying double stencilling, you can always play along with our Anything Goes theme.

Visible Image Enchanted Fairy

Hi Visible Image fans!  I was away for the new release, and have just got my hands on the lovely goodies, so today I thought I would make some magic with the gorgeous Enchanted Fairy set.

I started by stamping the fairy image onto my card panel using Versafine Onyx Black, and stamped off onto scrap copy paper so that I could make a mask.  Once the mask was in place I sponged the background with distress inks.

With the mask still in place, I stencilled Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender through the Stardust stencil.

I also spattered some Brilliance Galaxy Gold and Moonlight White on the background.

Then I removed the mask, stamped the stars and added Stickles Crystal to the wings.  The green really shows up against the back outlines of the wings.

I stamped a border using the bubbles stamp from the set, highlighting a few of the bubbles with a white Posca pen, then matted the panel onto holographic mirri card and mounted it onto my card base.

You can see how the green catches the light over the black lines.  

Here's a close-up of the stencilled stars and the shimmer of the pearlescent ink.

And here's a little video catching all the sparkle.

The Enchanted Fairy stamp set and Stardust stencil are available in the Visible Image store along with loads more fabulous designs.

Visible Image - Keeping It Simple

Hello, for two weeks we're Keeping it Simple at Visible Image, showcasing clean and simple cards that pack a punch, and that are quick and easy to make - just my style!

I went with the Keep Your Gin Up set, and clean and simple just got simpler with the coordinating dies.  I started by stamping and die cutting two glasses, then adding just a touch of colour to the limes, with a hint of reflection in some of the ice cubes and down the stem of the glasses.  I then placed them on my card in the MISTI so that I could place my sentiments from.  The happy birthday is from Birthday Wishes.

Then I placed the splashes where I wanted them and stamped them with Twisted Citron distress ink.  I wanted them both slightly off centre to give width and balance to the design.

It's a quick and easy way to add interest to a card.

And keeping to a limited colour scheme saves time too.

Cheers!

You can find the stamps and dies in the Visible Image store, along with the Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  Happy stamping!

Seize The Birthday - Use Metallics

 Hello, time for a new challenge at Seize The Birthday, and our host Ashwini has chosen Use Metallics.

I found this silver-foiled panel (Spellbinders Modern Lines) in my very small stash of foiled items (need to make more).  I stamped the new Abstract Flowers from Tim Holtz, using Distress Stains and drawing the colour in with a wet paintbrush.  The sentiment is from Glorious Bouquet and the background text from Ledger Script.

You can see the silver foiling better in this pic.

Pop on over to the Seize The Birthday blog for some more fab inspiration from the team and our Surprise Party Guests.  And if metallics aren't your thing, you can still play along with our Anything Goes challenge.

Visible Image - Lost In Music

 

Hello, for my Design Team post at Visible Image, I wanted to use this gorgeous Lost In Music stamp along with the Super Star stencil.

I started by stamping the main image onto the lower left portion of my card, and also stamped a mask.

I placed the mask into position while I sponged the background with Distress Inks.

For my background images I chose the small stamps from the set, and stamped them with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink, and spattered some Dusty Concord around.

While the mask was in place I positioned the stencil, then applied Cosmic Shimmer Gold Pearl texture paste through.

Once I removed the stencil there was a lovely halo around the girl's head.

Then it was time to add some colour to her features with Distress Inks.

A touch of Worn Lipstick on the lips, a bit of Dusty Concord for eyeshadow, and a mix of Tea Dye and Tattered Rose for her skin, leaving white space for highlights and adding another layer of colour for shadows.

I added a touch of Lost Horizon on the earphones and her sweatshirt.

As I'm typing this, I'm lost in early Beatles music.  What music do you get lost in?

Pop on over to the Visible Image website for the products used here, including Tim Holtz Distress Inks.