A Really Rush Job!

As the title of this post says, this card was a really rush job!  I suddenly remembered that I hadn't entered the latest Clarity Challenge and I really wanted to so I literally threw this card together - I don't think it is really good enough but I want to join in so am posting it anyway!

I brayered ink  (Distess - Mermaid Lagoon, Evergreen Bough and Abandoned Coral) on my 3 x 5 Gelli plate without even smoothing it out on a mat first which is why the background is quite spotty - this is the second print - the first was way too dark.  Before I pulled the print I used the gorgeous Clarity Edelweiss stamp to pull off some of the ink.   Then I over stamped the print with Black Versafine and embossed with clear powder.  You can't really see where I pulled the ink behind unless you look closely but it is there.  I like the way it is the opposite way round.  I went round the edge with the Coral ink then added the sequins and then Glamour Dust glitter to the centre of the sequins and to the flowers.  I had previously coloured the flowers with ink and Spectrum Noir Pencils.  I just popped the piece on a black card blank to make it pop. I also just realised that the centre flower is floating!  I did ground it with some green pencil but I took the photo before I did that, silly me!  I really wish I had given myself more time to make a better card but at least I can enter.

The Clarity Stamp Challenge for this month is called 'Bingo'.  There is a grid with different options to choose going across, up or down - each square has a different technique in.  That is so badly explained - if you peek at the blog you will see what I mean! I went for flowers, stamp and glitter.

Thank you for visiting me, I really appreciate it!  Sorry this is so rushed and probably makes no sense at all!

Take care.  Christine xxx

August Rudoph Days

Another Christmas card today!  I do love getting festive early!

For this one I cut a square of watercolour card and added masking tape to the whole edge.  I popped Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks on a tile, spritzed with water then used a damp paintbrush to add the ink to the watercolour card.  I dried with a heat gun then used my fingers to add some droplets of water then dried with a piece of kitchen roll.  I added some shimmer by spraying generously with glimmer mist - this also moved the colours around a bit adding to the background effect.  Then I removed the masking tape - I always look forward to that bit, its fun to see the effect! The stamping is all done in Black Versafine embossed with clear detail powder. The stamps are all HobbyArt - the tree from Woodland Glade Scene It and the sentiment and stamp from Christmas Post.   I went around the edge with a fine black marker twice, overlapping the two wavy lines then filled the crossovers with glue using a glue pen then added Cosmic Shimmer Sea Blue Glitter.  My friend Sue gave me the glitter as part of my birthday present.  She gave me a box filled with all sorts of crafty goodies!  Thank you Sue if you are reading this!  I also added some Cosmic shimmer Diamond Sparkles to the main image.  I didn't add too much stamping to the background as I really liked how the inky, glimmery background looks.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

August Rudolph Days - Christmas - Anything Goes
HobbyArt - Blue
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Ditch The Design Papers
The Craft Barn - Spray  (I used glimmer mist spray which I adore!)

These are all fab challenges and fab blogs!

Thank you so much for visiting me - I appreciate it lots and lots!  Take Care. Christine xxx

Pencils on Kraft Card

I've seen a lot of people using coloured pencils on Kraft card so I thought I would give it a go.  Its a bit out of my comfort zone as the result is quite muted which is different to what I usually do.  I was quite pleased with the effect though.

The image is from a Penny Black clear set called Belle Fleurs and I stamped it with Versamark and embossed it with white detail powder.  I used the same with the sentiment which is by HobbyArt. The image is coloured with Spectrum Noir Coloured Pencils then I added some clear Wink of Stella. The image is cut out with a circular Spellbinders die which I adhered to the base card and edged with faux stitching using a white gel pen.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - this time its to use some sort of  pens or pencils for colouring.
Penny Black and More Challenge - Summer Flowers

Both these blogs are definitely worth a visit!

I am off to my daughter Sarah's tonight for a few days - lots of cuddles with my gorgeous Granddaughter, Freya.  My son Michael will be visiting too!  I am so excited!

Thank you so much for visiting me, I really appreciate it!  Have a lovely weekend whatever you are doing!  Take care!  Christine xxx

Together Forever!

It's our anniversary today - Darren and I have been married for 11 years.  He is the best husband I could ever have wished for and I love him so much!  Here is the card I made for him.

I adore this cute little image which is by InkyDoodles and is called 'Love Birds'.  The background card is watercolour card which I sprayed with water then brushed on watered down Distress Inks.  I can't remember exactly which blues I used but I did add in some Seedless Preserves.  I had previously stamped and embossed the image and used masking fluid to mask off the birds, leaves, berries and perch.  I also used a toothbrush to spray some masking fluid over the background too.  I managed to spray my glasses with it too! Silly me!  When dry, I rubbed off the masking fluid and painted the image with Kuretaki Gansai Tambi watercolour paints.  The frame is Lovin' Diamonds die by Spellbinders and to make the little hearts, I used Flutter Love die set again by Spellbinders.  The sentiment is from Crafter' s Companion Moonbeam Meadow 'Hugs and Kisses' stamp set and I added Glossy Accents to the birds, leaves and berries and Wink of Stella to the hearts.  I added the Wink of Stella after I had taken the photo - sorry!

I was so pleased how this came out, I hope Darren doesn't mind a cute card!

I would like to enter this into the Craft Barn Weekly Challenge which this time is 'Diamonds.

Thank you so much for visiting me and have a lovely Sunday! Take care - Christine xxx

Clean and Simple Fairy Cards

I have gone 'clean and simple' for this one.  The stencil is the smallest of two Ginkgo leaves on the fabulous Clarity stencil - I love the shape - they are supposed to be green but I did mine in shades of purple.  Seedless Preserves and Shaded Lilac Distress Ink sponged through the stencil to be precise with Peeled Paint for the stem.  I sprayed some Glimmer Mist through the stencil too for a touch of shimmer. The fairy and sentiment are also both Clarity and are stamped in black Versafine.  I mounted the piece on shimmery card which just shows at the edges and the fairy dust is white opal Liquid Pearls sprinkled with Glamour Dust.  There was a lot of ink and Glimmer Mist left on the stencil that I didn't want to waste, so I took another piece of card and pressed it on the top of the stencil - painted in a couple of lines for definition and added two fairies and the sentiment.  I quite like how it turned out.

I mounted this one on darker purple card as it looked better than the shimmery card.

I would like to enter the following challenges;

Clarity Stamp  - Anything Goes
The Craft Barn - Clean and Simple (I won last weeks challege, Yay!  Thank you Craft Barn!)
That's Crafty - Stencils and Masks
CASology - Wings

These are all wonderful Challenge Blogs, well worth a visit!

Thank you for visiting me - I appreciate it so very much!
Take care - Christine xxx

Christmas!

Yay!  Another Christmas card for my stash and using the fabulous HobbyArt sentiment that I love!  I think the font on this is just awesome and makes a stunning focal point.  I stamped it with Versafine and embossed it with silver detail powder and coloured it with a blue Promarker.  I cut it out with a Spellbinders label die and inked through the die with Distress Ink.  The embossing in the background is done with a Cuttlebug folder then I added watered down Distress Ink, dried with my heat gun and added a bit more ink just to the raised areas. Then I drew on some dots with a silver Sharpie pen and added  little pearls for bling.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

HobbyArt - 'Words' - in my case - just one word!
Rudolph Days - Anything goes as long as its Christmas.

Please pop over to both of these blogs - they are fabulous!

Thank you so much for visiting me - your visits and comments mean so much!
Take care, Christine xxx

Beautiful Colours of Brushos!

Brushos are fabulous pots of powder pigment - I bought some a long time ago and have only used them a time or two so thought they needed to be played with again!  I have seen them used a lot on various blogs, on Youtube and demonstrated at the recent Newbury Papercraft Show.  I have made three cards with the same stamp but using different colours.  I haven't added sentiments or other embellishments as I couldn't decide at the moment what to add or even whether to just leave them as they are.

The stamp is by Woodware and the top and bottom ones are stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder and the middle one is stamped with Black Versafine and embossed with clear powder.   All I did then was sprinkle very small amounts of the different colours of Brushos in the areas I wanted them, then gently spritzed with water and watched the magic happen!  I dabbed areas with a piece of kitchen towel when I wanted the colour to be paler or changed.  I used watercolour card for this cause it works so well with the water.  I really like the effect - its loose and shows the beautiful colours.  I think I will be playing with these cool little pots of colour a lot more!

I would like to enter the following:

The Craft Barn Weekly Challenge - Circle and Flower (s) - I hope its ok that I have done Circle (s) and Flower!

Hel's Sunday Stamper - Beautiful or Beauty - Hels Sunday Stamper this week is dedicated to
Lily Chilvers who recently died too young after a short battle with cancer.  Lily was the artist who gave us the little Octopode monsters and she was a beautiful lady.  I have not used her stamp designs myself but have really enjoyed seeing lots of awesome artwork using these fabulous quirky little monsters.  Here is a picture of Lily - you can see why Hels chose the word 'Beautiful'.

Please spare a moment to think of Lily's family and friends during this sad time, thank you.

Also, please hop over to the The Craft Barn and Hel's blogs - there are fabulous things to see on both!

Thank you for visiting me, I really appreciate it lots and lots!  Take care.  Christine xxx