Steampunk Cycling

Hello everyone, I have a couple of cycling themed cards to share with you today, using a range of Steampunk stamps featured during last month's shows on Hochanda.

To create my first card, I stamped the penny farthing image from the Steampunkery stamp set, and then masked the image using masking tissue. I created a series of hills using Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron and Shaded Lilac Distress Ink, and added some trees from the Tall Trees stamp set, using dark green Versafine Clair Ink. I added a bit of pencil shading to 'ground' the smaller trees. I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink to create the sky, masking off a circle for the sun. I stamped the sentiment from the Punky Expressions stamp set, and added some birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set.

I removed the mask and coloured the penny farthing with Inktense pencils. Finally, I matted the background onto a large black card blank.

For my second card, I wanted to create a collaged feel, using lots of stamping to build up backgrounds. I started by using a patterned Crafty Individuals tag, and added some images from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp set in vintage sepia tones. I also added the gentleman on the bike as the focal image, using darker brown ink.

I made a larger background in toning colours on a piece of kraft card, picking the same images that I had used on the tag to create the background. I picked a grey card to mat the background, as it was a colour that was already on the tag background. I added a cheery tan ribbon to the tag, and stamped a sentiment from the Punky Expressions stamp set onto a small piece of scrap card.

I hope that you have enjoyed my Steampunk inspiration this month, and that you will try some of the ideas for yourselves. Thanks for stopping by, xx

A Wheelie Quick Card!!!

I am sharing a card today as part of the Fifteen Minute blog post which is airing on the Design Team Blog. Regular followers will know that this blog post features cards and projects made in fifteen minutes or less, and we aim to show that you can create designs that are both stylish and have that wow factor, but do not need to spend hours to achieve the end result.

My card was made as a Birthday card for my lovely Husband, who celebrated his Birthday a couple of weeks ago. He likes plain and simple cards, and even though his Birthday falls on a particular day, he definitely does not want anything Hallowe'en related! He is a cycling enthusiast, and so I felt that this design would fit the bill perfectly.

I started my card by cutting a strip of smooth cartridge paper, and masking off the central area with a piece of masking tissue. I stamped the front wheel of the penny farthing from the Steampunkery stamp set in various colours across the top and bottom of the background. I simply used masking tape to cover up the rest of the stamp before I inked the stamp, and removed the tape before I stamped it each time. Once I had stamped the wheels, I removed the msking tissue, and stamped the sentiment from the Birthday Words stamp set across the middle, using black ink. To finish, I simply added the background to a large black card blank.

Do head over to the Design Team blog to see what my Team Mates have created in the post today, it is a jam-packed post, and you will definitely be inspired! Thanks for stopping by, xx

Clean and Simple

Hello everyone, I am back to share some more projects featured on last month's Steampunk shows on Hochanda. For these three projects, I wanted to focus on the new word plate, Punky Expressions, and the different ways that the stamps could be used. I have created three very clean and simple cards, great for when you need a card that does not take too long to make.

I created a gelli plate background on a large white card blank, by brayering Distress Ink in shades of Salty Ocean and Rusty Hinge across the round gelli plate. I used an image from the Steampunk Travel stamp set, stamping straight onto the plate, to take colour away, and not cleaning the stamp in between stamping, so it added colour in various areas as well. I pressed the plate onto the card to ensure that I printed the background exactly where I wanted it to go. I added a few more of the little airships onto the background, using the same shades of Distress Ink as before.

I stamped the large gentleman from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp plate using black ink. I added the Eureka! sentiment around the edges, starting at the top and bottom, moving left and right, then simply filling in the gaps.

For my second card, I created another gelli plate background, using Salty Ocean and Twisted Citron Distress Ink, and pressing a dotty tool onto the plate to create a textured pattern. I often use found items around the house, including bits of cling film, so whatever you have handy is fine. I added some images from the Silhouette Grasses stamp set, using shades of Versafine Clair Ink in tones of blue and green, a little butterfly from the Baroque Meadow stamp plate, and finally, combined two of the stamps from the Punky Expressions stamp set. These new words and phrases are so versatile, and will be very useful for lots of occasions.

Finally, a really quick card, using more of the grasses as before in a different colour option, sticking to blues, purples and pinks this time, straight onto a card blank. The butterflies as before, and a variation on the stamp sentiment. This was such a quick card to make using first and second generation stamping to build up depth to the flower field.

I hope that my cards have given you some ideas for these fabulous stamps. Thanks for stopping by, xx

The Gift

Hello everyone, Chocolate Baroque are releasing a new stamp today, a very cute Christmas image drawn by the lovely Sue Page, called The Gift. This is great stand alone image which will be so useful for your cards this year, and can be used in so many ways, I have lots of ideas.

I have not had very long to play with the stamp yet, and so for my first project, I have simply stamped onto kraft card using dark brown Versafine Ink, and coloured the image with Polychromos pencils, adding a sentiment from The Gift of Christmas stamp set. To create the background, I stamped an ivy leaf from the New England Winter stamp set randomly over a larger piece of kraft card, using green Versafine Ink. I edged both pieces of card with Festive Berries Distress Ink, before matting onto a piece of olive green card.

I hope to bring you another project very soon using this lovely stamp image, because there is another idea buzzing around in my head. Time permitting, I will make it up and share it with you! Thanks for stopping by, xx

Steampunk Flowers

Hello everyone, I hope you caught Lesley's fabulous Steampunk shows last week on Hochanda, featuring an eclectic mixture of Steampunk images. I love working with this versatile genre of stamps, because you can use the images in so many different ways; very grungy, adding lots of texture, or more feminine in style, altogether prettier, using brighter colours.

I have created a floral card, loosely based on the idea of dandelion clocks, which could be for a friend's Birthday, or just to show that you care, using a sentiment from the brand new Punky Expressions stamp set which will be available on the website in the next few days.

I started to create my card by blending Wilted Violet, Salty Ocean, Abandoned Coral and Fossilized Amber Distress Ink onto a piece of smooth Cartridge paper. I based my colour scheme around the papers that I had chosen for the flowers that I was going to make further along in the project. I spritzed the background with water, to create a mottled effect, blotting the background here and there with a piece of tissue. I stamped the large script stamp from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp set over the background, using Salty Ocean Distress Ink. On a spare piece of card, I stamped the small clock three times, and cut it out. I added a bit of yellow ink to age the images slightly.

I die cut some flowers from some Crafty Individuals paper, and scrunched them to give them a bit of texture and movement, inking the backs of the flowers with blue ink. To complete the flowers, I stamped three stems using an image from the Diamante Delights stamp set onto the background using grey ink, and some leaves from the Bold Blooms stamp set onto some scrapbook paper, which I cut out. I added the clock faces to the centre of the paper flowers, and used some 3D foam behind the central flower.

You may have caught sight of one of my old samples on the show created using images from some of our Steampunk stamp sets, featuring the fabulous beetle from the Steampunkery stamp set as a focal point. I have again used paper flowers to create this design, but added cogs in the centre, dropping beads into the middle of each one, and stamping onto the leaves this time.

I will be back later in the month with more Steampunk ideas to share with you, do keep checking the Design Team blog to see more fabulous ideas from my Design Team mates. Thanks for stopping by, xx