Fluttering By

I needed to make a Birthday card for a very dear friend recently, and my project here is the end result. I had a vague idea as I started out, and knew which main components I was going to use. They were purchases from my recent trip to Ally Pally, but I wasn't sure of the exact outcome, that's part of the fun of crafting sometimes!
I used some fairly plain background paper from my stash which was a soft golden colour, and stencilled a flower from one of Lin Brown's new stencil plates onto the background fairly randomly, using a soft pinkish acrylic paint. I then added a coral colour to the edges of the petals. I added some ferns from another one of the stencil plates, using an olive green. I added some stamping to the background, using a deep brown, but used second generation stamping, as I did not want the stamping to be too dark. I added a touch of Distress Ink around the edges of the background, using an olive green to blend with the colour palette that I was already using.

I stamped a large butterfly from IndigBlu onto watercolour paper, and coloured the image with Distress Markers and a waterbrush. I stamped the body and antennae part of the butterfly directly onto the background, which allowed me to cut the watercoloured butterfly out, omitting the fiddly antennae parts. I then attached the butterfly to the card.

 

My camera battery was flat when I needed to take a photo of this card, so I used my phone. The picture has come out fine, in fact, I think that it has probably turned out better! 

Thanks for stopping by, xx

My first Show of the year!

Hi Folks, well I'm off to the Sincerely Yours Show at Thetford in Norfolk today, hoping to see a few crafty friends who are going as well. It's the first craft show that I've been to this year, so it will be great to see what has started to creep through from CHA. I'm going to Ally Pally next month, and that's where things will kick off properly, I'm sure. However, there's nothing like having a wander around stands of craft goodies and chatting to like-minded shoppers, is there?

Kay and Alfie will be there with the IndigoBlu stand, so it will be good to catch up with them too. I'm after some more Pan Pastels following on from making some samples for them recently. They are such a lovely medium to work with. This is another sample that I made for them, which may well be on display today:

This owl stamp is such a treat to work with. I've painted it with Distress Stains for this sample, using a variety of browns and oranges. I've used Pan Pastels for the background, and gilding flakes for the lollipop tree.

Well, I hope you are having a great weekend whatever you are doing, thanks for popping by, xx

T'wit T'woo

Hi Folks, some of you may have seen the latest show from IndigoBlu yesterday on Create and Craft. There are some great new stamps available. I thought I'd show you a couple of cards that I made featuring the lovely large owl stamp hand drawn by Kay. Both of these cards got an airing on the show, so those of you that watched it, will recognise them.

The first card is an easel card, made using Distress inks. I stamped the owl onto the card, and then masked it to stamp the branch afterwards. I then decoupaged two layers over the top, which I coloured with Polychromos pencils. I used a sentiment from the 'Hocus Pocus' stamp plate which I felt went well with this image.

The second card uses Flitterglu and copper gilding flakes for the main image. I have placed this into an oval aperture which has been created partly by stamping some ivy leaves around the bottom. These leaves come with the owl stamp. This is such a useful little stamp.

I'll be back with some more samples soon, thanks for stopping by, xx

Hi folks, I'm back from my travels now as some of you know. I had a lovely time in Tenerife, the weather was gorgeous, and the hotel was amazing. However I was troubled by terrible tooth pain for my entire trip. I've been to see the dentist, and am hoping that he has sorted me out. Tooth pain is a terrible thing isn't it?

This was the view as we ate breakfast in the mornings at the hotel, it was so peaceful and a much needed break for my OH in particular.

The temperature was constantly around 23-26 degrees while we were there, so it was very hard to come home to a very cool 3 degrees!

I have posted my first ever post on the Indigoblu Blog today. It's a card that you guys have seen before, as I've started with one of my favourites. However, it would be lovely if you'd hop over there to take a look. The other Design Team members will be starting to post their projects in the next few days, so keep an eye out for those too.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

On my Holidays!

Hi Folks, I'm going on holiday in the early hours of Friday morning, so I just haven't had time to do a Forgotten Friday post this week unfortunately. I have been feeling a bit rough since I went to the Dentist, and so trying to get much of anything done has been difficult. Hopefully, the change of scenery, and a bit of warm air will do me some good.

I thought that I'd show you a few bits and pieces that I've been making recently instead of my Forgotten Friday post. I hope that's okay.

My 'C' and 'D' tags for the Chocolate Baroque Guild swap:

'C' is for Colourful, Create, Crackle, Clear Embossing, and Charm, I went into 'C' overload! 'D' is for Diamonds, Daisies and Dragonflies. I used vellum for the daisies, and coloured them with Copics from behind.

Here's another Indigoblu sample for you:

The character with the binoculars is a lady, she is often mistaken for a man. I decided to go for feminine steampunk, rather than the more masculine option, adding tickets instead of leaves behind the flower. I like this green and puple combination.


I'll be back after the weekend, hopefully feeling much brighter. I hope you all have a great weekend yourselves, and make the most of any good weather that you get here in the UK.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Favourite colour combinations

Hi folks, my last post was a scheduled post, so I haven't had a chance to say thank you for the lovely comments from you wishing me well for my tooth extraction. It went okay, the sedation kept me perfectly calm, which was just what I could have hoped for during an uncomfortable and tricky procedure. I am a bit battered and bruised now, but hopefully things will just settle down after a few days, and I'll be back to normal in that department, anyway! I'll be off to Hospital again for a procedure on my arm in a couple of weeks, as I have a frozen shoulder that needs treatment. It has been very painful for about four months, and the time has come to get it sorted out, hopefully. So, I'll keep you posted as to how that goes, but not in too much detail, lol!

Anyway, onto matters crafty now. Since I have been playing with Distress Stains recently, it has made me think about colour combinations, particularly when using the Distress family of colours. I am rediscovering combinations that I love to use; Barn Door and Wild Honey, Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen, and most recently, Scattered Straw and Weathered Wood. I really like this combination. I have used it on projects before, but most recently, used it for a couple of Indigolu samples that I'd like to show you.

The first one uses stamps from 'Grand Tour II'. I masked a triangle section of the background off, and inked it up with my two colours of Distress Ink, then stamped the background with the map from the stamp set, twisting it at different angles, to fill the space. I then dried this off, covered it over, and filled another triangle section. I repeated the processs until the background was covered.

I coloured a piece of white card with the two colours, working out roughly where the building would sit, allowing for where the sky needed to be, and then stamped the main image with Flitterglu, and added the gold gilding flakes.

My second sample uses 'Grand Tour I' and the same colours throughout. I used Distress Stains to create a wrinkle free distress background. I created a strip of bicycles using the Flitterglu and gold flakes again. The little bicycle charm is an almost perfect match for the stamp, I was really happy about that. I stamped the word 'Travel' on the ribbon with Versamagic Jumbo Java ink, it's a great ink for stamping on fabric, and I have several colours in this ink for this purpose. The lady on the bicycle is a great focal stamp, and the details have come out really well, although the photograph doesn't really do her justice.

So, for a girl who loves purple, and working with bright colours, I am definitely finding my softer side at the moment! What is your favourite colour combination? Do you like brights, or the paler shades?

Thanks for stopping by today, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 50- Lady in Pink

Hi folks, it's been a busy week around here, and Friday has just whizzed around again. I have been very busy with DT work, and haven't made a seperate Forgotten Friday piece. Hoever, one of my older DT pieces actually qualifies for this post, so I'm choosing to show that today.

It's an IndigoBlu card, using stamps from the 'Music Hall' plate. I really like this stamp plate, but hadn't inked it up for ages. I had the chance to choose which stamps to make two of my projects with recently, and used these for one of them. I've gone for a soft palette of Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen, to give a air of faded elegance, a bit like the woman in the main stamp.

I stamped the image onto a Nestability shape, echoing the suggestion of a poster, which is one of the accompanying smaller stamps. I've added some small black rolled roses, and some Crealie leaves to finish. The sentiments are great on this stamp plate, aren't they?

Don't forget to pop over to the Chocolate Baroque Design Team blog today, as I have another card showcasing some great Crafty Individuals stamps. I've gone very patriotic this time! The details of how I made the card are all on the DT blog, but here's a quick look at what I've made:

Why don't you have a rummage through your forgotten and neglected stash, and make something. Leave a comment, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Brideshead revisited?

Hi folks, I had occasion to make some samples for Kay and Alfie to take to the 'Stitches' show at the weekend, and these won't be seen elsewhere at all. Some of the cards can't be shown yet, because they contain new stamps, but a couple of cards used stamps that are already for sale on the Indigoblu website.

The first one was using the set called 'Brideshead, which contains a great mixture of small stamps, great for collage style cards, or for using with some of the other stamps in the IndigoBlu range. I decided to go for quite an unusual colour scheme, based loosely on a peacock feather, as I used a stamp of that design for my background. I stuck to greens and purples throughout the project.

I created two small cameos, cutting a fluted oval shape from purple metal with a Nestability shape. I then stamped the man and woman on an oval piece of card, and placed these on top, covering them with Glossy Accents.

I stamped and embossed the car with a two tone purple embossing powder to carry through the purple theme. The gold gilding flakes feature heavily in my design, adding to the sumptuous feel of the design as a whole. I wanted to create a slightly Art Deco feel to the piece, as the peacock feather has that style about it.

Hopefully, the addition of a real peacock feather helps to add to that feeling too. I really like this stamp set, and there were a few more stamps that I didn't get the chance to use, so it is a great mixture of images.

The bank notes and champagne label look great coloured with Old Paper Distress ink, and then stamped with the Flitterglu and gilding flakes.

I'll have another sample in a day or two, thanks for stopping by, xx

A little bit of Pomp and Pageantry

Here's another IndigoBlu card that I made recently, using Flitterglu and gilding flakes. I've used the 'Pomp and Pageantry' stamp set, and the large 'Jack' stamp.

I wanted to use the typical red and blue, but to incorporate the gilding flakes, so they replace the white in my colour scheme. I have used gold embossing for the scrolls on the background.

I have masked the man and woman together, which I like to do, using Crimson red Versafine ink to stamp the images onto Kraft card. The flakes are so colourful, and you can really see them on the large flag.

I'll be posting a couple more samples this week hopefully in the run up to another TV show on Sunday 26th Feb. Don't forget to look out for my samples! Thanks for stopping by, xx

Keeping busy

Hi folks, another scheduled post from me today. I'm finally off to the Hospital to be seen about having my tooth out. I had an infection flare up in my gum back in October, and it was recommended that my tooth should be taken out. It's only now that I'm having my consultation appointment! It's complicated, and needs to come out under a general anaesthetic, as the roots of my tooth are near my sinus cavity, and could be awkward to extract. I'd rather not be awake for the whole process anyway!

I made a card for my niece's 16th Birthday, using Distress Stains for the background again, I love using these at the moment. I've used stamps from indigoblu
to complete the card. The colours of the butterfly are not supposed to be realistic in any way, I just wanted them to match my background.

  

Here's another card sample from the latest Create and Craft TV show featuring the IndigoBlu stamps as well.

This features a spritzed background using Distress reinkers and water. I've coloured the poppies with Polychromos pencils, and then used Flitterglu and gilding flakes for the sentiment, and the border along the bottom.

The weather forecasters say that we are in for some cold weather this weekend, a good excuse to stay inside, wrap up warm, and get some crafting done, methinks. Anyway, have a good weekend, and thanks for stopping by, xx

Poppies-what else?

Hi folks, here's another sample that I made for the recent Create and Craft TV Show, using the fabulous stamps from IndigoBlu Flitterglu and some gilding flakes.

This time, I have used stamps from the stamp plate 'Poppy Meadow'. I created a background using Distress inks, and used a swirl stamp around the edge. I cut an oval shape from black card, and stamped the large poppy with Flitterglu, and applied the flakes. Black card shows the flakes off so well.

You all know how much I love to make handmade flowers, and this time, I wanted them to represent poppies, which are my favourite flowers. I love using these brass rings, adding Glossy Accents, and dropping seed beads into the glue, it's so effective. I have used handmade paper, which I have spritzed with Barn Door reinker to get this lovely red colour, before cutting the flowers out with a Nestability shape.

I really like the multi-coloured nature of some of the flake options, this one has reds and coppers in it. I'll be posting another sample in a couple of days, so keep popping back. Thanks for stopping by, xx

A little bit Vintage

Hi folks, another IndigoBlu sample today, featuring Flitterglu and gilding flakes. However, today's sample is a little bit more subtle than my previous one!

This sample uses the stamp plate 'Sarah's Choice', which is a mixture of words and definitions. I have chosen a soft colour palette of Kraft and cream, to which I have added the red gold gilding flakes. I stamped the script with Flitterglu, and added the gilding flakes down one side of my background. I added the same script effect to my handmade flower, which I made from brown parcel paper. I chose a vintage postcard as my focal point for the card, the colours were just right for this project.

I stamped some seam binding, made a vintage label, using one of the definitions, and added some pearl embellishments. The white burlap detail is another stamp from the stamp plate, it is a great stamp.

Keep checking back, as I'll be posting another sample in a couple of days, thanks for stopping by, xx

A little bit of WOW!

Recently I have been playing around with some embossing powders from WOW, and I have to say that I am quite impressed with the range and quality of these powders. Several of my samples, if they have had embossing on them have used these particular powders recently. The extra chunky clear powder I have to say is one of the best I have come across for triple embossing, it gives a super smooth finish. I made a few samples up for WOW themselves this week, and if you've been to the NEC, you may have seen them on the stand. I am not showing you them on here, as the stamps weren't on the website last time I checked, so I'm not sure how top secret they are!

Anyway, here is a sample of a card I made for them using some fabulous stamps from IndigoBlu. I've used the copper pearl embossing powder for the large corner stamp, over a background made using Distress reinkers and water. I spritzed my background, drying each layer, until I was happy with the depth of colour. I then sponged the same colours of Distress Inks onto some white card, and stamped a couple of Butterflies with Coffee Archival Ink, before cutting them out. I've used flower stamens for their antennae.

Glenda has just started stocking some of these embossing powders over at Chocolate Baroque and she has some great samples over on her blog, which you can reach by following the link in my side bar. I hope you are all having a great weekend whatever you are up to, thanks for popping by, xx

Friday news

Hi Folks, I'm away from home this week, so there won't be a Forgotten Friday project from me. However, if you would like to link anything you have made with your neglected stash to this post, I will pop along to your blog to take a look.

I am heading up to Happy Stampers North West on Saturday, but spending two nights with Megan, my Daughter either side of the Show, in Stoke. It will be some much needed time together, so we are very happy about that.

For the past few months, I have had the fabulous news that Kay and Alfie of IndigoBlu wanted me to work as part of their Design Team. I have sent off some samples which will be on display at the Show on Saturday. I have added a link to their blog in my sidebard. Had any of you spotted it? Here are one or two photos of what I have been making for them:

Aren't the stamps lovely? I have had a lot of fun making these, and have lots more ideas, so look out for more posts coming your way soon, hopefully.

Thanks for stopping by today, xx

A very Special Birthday

Today it's my Daughter's 22nd Birthday. She feels old, I guess that it's all relative, I look in the mirror, and don't recognise the lines on my face, so I feel old. I look at her, and don't know where the time has gone since she was a little girl, or a stroppy twelve year old. Whatever age I remember her at, it's always with a smile.

I will be celebrating her special day with her as this post appears. We are staying in Stoke for a couple of days, where she goes to University. I'm not sure what we are going to do, except have a lovely meal out in the evening.

I made her card using some lovely stamps from IndigoBlu; 'Ella Bella', and 'Anemone Corner'. I coloured the background with Distress Inks, stamped and embossed 'Ella Bella' in the centre, and then stamped 'Anemone Corner' in the two opposite corners. I stamped the flower sections again onto white card, coloured the flowers with Polychromos pencils, and decoupaged them. I added two little Martha Stewart butterflies, edged with Stickles, and added Stickles to the flowers and central design too.

It gets harder every year to make Megan's card, as she has had a lot of handmade cards from  me now! Hopefully she will like this one, it's pink, so I'm starting off in the right direction!
Thanks for stopping by today, xx