Live in the Moment

Hello everyone, I have a few projects to share with you today showcasing the fabulous mushroom stamps that we brought to you on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

For my first projects, I stamped some Mushrooms from the Autumn Poppy stamp set onto large sticker sheets before cutting them out. This is an alternative to stamping and masking images, and allows you to add your images to patterned backgrounds very quickly. I found a lovely speckled background in my stash box which was a great colour for some mushrooms, which I had created using the wrinkle free distress method. I coloured the Mushrooms with Polychromos pencils.

I stamped the sentiment onto spare card, splitting it in two, and colouring the edges with coordinating Distress Ink.

The next two cards show how backgrounds which are not altogether successful can be used when adding something over the top. The first, a remake of an old project that I made a long time ago, I actually spilled my cup of tea on the background! However, I liked the colours, so carried on anyway.

The next is the TV demo itself, and although I do not like this background so much, perhaps with a bit of pencil shading around the mushrooms, it will grow on me.

I used The Toadstool Garden next, embossed in white on a piece of kraft card, then added some paper piecing for a change. I simply rummaged through my stash box again for scraps of backgrounds left over from other projects, and stamped parts of the image using white embossing powder as before. I cut out the flowers and mushrooms before adding them to the main image. Small details were coloured with Koh-I-Noor paints and a few splatters added to the background for added interest.

So there you have it, a few more ideas for you using these fabulous images. I hope that you will try some of them out yourselves. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Kim's Houses

I have a few cards to share today showcasing the newest collection of stamps by Kim Moody. Kim created these fabulous houses as a set that could be put together as a street, or equally work brilliantly as stand alone images. He has also drawn some smaller add on images which are so useful for creating scenes and completing your artwork.

 The Posh House is sure to make you smile, it really is very delapidated, with its crumbling plaster, exposed brickwork, and an air of genteel neglect. It is calling out to be fixed up, and its name suggests that it feels superior to its neighbours who are in far better shape!

I have used Distress Oxides for my backgrounds, and added a large tree image from the Trees a Crowd stamp set to finish the card. The sentiment is also one from Kim's stamp plates, something new this time.

Our House is a super tall skinny house, great for creating terraces, or again, as a stand alone house. The little cat looking up at the pie in the open window, the milk bottles, and the bird on the roof, are all great little details.

I used an acrylic tag, stamped with Archival Ink and painted the image with acrylic paints. I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of patterned paper and then attached it to back of the tag with matte medium.

I stamped and masked the house, created a wash of colour over the background with Distress Inks. I added a woodland using trees from Trees a Crowd, and then added the little removal van. I coloured the images with pencils.

Gran's House is full of character with the beams and the wonky handrail on the steps. The cracked plaster on the walls and the lovely old door simply add to the quirky nature of the house.

I chose kraft card and white embossing to create my card. I added trees from the Trees a Crowd stamp set, omitting the trunk from one of them to make it look like a bush instead. I used a Versamark pen to complete the landscape, and added the embossing powder over the top. I coloured the images with Koh-I-Noor paints.

I have used some of the little words to create a set of party invitations by stamping onto Gelli plate backgrounds. These were really quick and easy, and made in just a couple of minutes. I added a faux stitched border with a fine liner pen.

The Shop is asuch a detailed image, every time you look, there is something else to see. Check out the little mouse underneath the boxes, and Kim's signature bird on the roof. You can have so much fun planning which colours to use for all of the fruit and vegetables.

I used Masking Tissue to mask The Shop, and Posh House so that I could stamp the other two houses afterwards. I then masked all of the houses to add a Pan Pastel background and trees from Trees a Crowd in first and second generation stamping. I coloured the images with pencils.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Mushroom House

Hello everyone, I have two projects to share with you today featuring the fabulous Mushroom House stamp set featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

My first card is a moonlit scene and was a demo on one of the shows. I stamped the image onto a piece of drawing cartridge, and then masked the image with masking tissue, also masking off a moon shape in the sky. I drew the rest of the grass line with a permanent fineliner pen and then added colour with Distress Inks. I added some extra yellow from the moon across the sky, falling where the moolight would shine on the image and the grass.

I removed the masks and added colour to the moon with Distress Ink. I then coloured the Mushroom House with pencils, colouring all down the right hand side with a yellow pencil to represent the moonlight. Finaly, I added some white dots in the sky with a gel pen for some stars.

To create my second project, I again used a piece of drawing cartridge for the background. I inked the bottom part of the image, using masking tape to cover the top part, and then before I stamped the image, I removed the masking tape. I then cleaned the stamp and inked the top part of the image, using masking tape to prevent getting ink on the bottom part of the stamp. I removed the masking tape before I stamped the top part of the image halfway up the card.  I drew hills with a fineliner pen to create a scene, and coloured the sky, hills and houses with Distress Inks and a waterbrush. I added extra stamping using images from the Teeny Weeny Meadow stamp set.

I had a lot of fun working with this particular stamp and hope that my projects have given you a few ideas. Thanks for stopping by, xx