Tropical Bird

Hello everyone, I have a project to share using the Birds of Paradise Multibuy stamps that are currently on offer this month from Chocolate Baroque. I have chosen to use a colour palette that is outside my usual comfort zone, but I really wanted to create a tropical feel to this card.

To make my background, I spritzed a piece of smooth watercolour paper with some Dylusion sprays, and then used a Crafter's Workshop stencil to add some depth. I used Distress Inks to add the shading; Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles.

I used a little flower spray from the Wisteria Lane stamp set to create some branches to hang the bird cage from. I stamped the image randomly around the top edges of the background, using Library Green Archival Ink. I stamped and embossed the birdcage using gold embossing powder, ensuring that the background was completely dry, so that the embossing powder did not stick to the rest of the background.

I stamped the bird onto the background, and then again onto a spare piece of card. I coloured the second image with Polychromos pencils and cut it out before adhering it to the background. I added a sentiment from the Card Sentiments clear stamp set. I matted the background onto a piece of dark green card to complete my project.

I hope that you will experiment with your colours as I have done when creating your projects, you never know where the journey will take you! Thanks for stopping by, xx

Playing with backgrounds

Hi Folks, I have some more projects for you today showcasing the Thistle Butterfly/Honeysuckle Butterfly multi-buy stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque

I have really enjoyed working with these pretty stamps, as flowers and butterflies are among my favourite images to use. I have made some slightly different backgrounds for these projects, and one of them was a first time experiment for me!


My first sample was created by using Pan Pastels for my background over a mask, I wanted to create a tartan background to go with the thistle image, it seemed appropriate. (If you do not have a mask, you could just use thin strips of masking tape, it was what I was going to use until I found a mask). I used a pale yellow over my card first, then applied the mask before using a lilac PP and then a magenta toned PP over the top.

I then stamped the image with Coffee Archival Ink and coloured it with Polychromos pencils. I used the floral spray stamp from the Honeysuckle stamp set to stamp around the edges using Lulu Lavender Memento ink. The sentiment is taken from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set.

My second project was created using water colour paper, onto which I stamped the large honeysuckle image.  I then brushed water over the paper around the image, and sprinkled Leaf Green Brusho over the water. I wanted a very pale background, so I spritzed the Brusho with water, and dabbed it with kitchen roll, to take the darkest patches away. I then dabbed between the areas of the image that were still white with the coloured kitchen roll to add some colour. This technique worked really well, and as a first time experiment, I was really pleased! I used the tiniest amount of Brusho, so these powders are going to last me a long time.

I stamped the image again onto a scrap piece of card and coloured the images with Distress markers and a water brush. I decoupaged the butterflies from the second image onto the main image. I stamped the small honeysuckle stamp from the Elegant Edges stamp set around the edge of the background.

 Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

AE Challenge- Travel

Hi Folks, it's time for another challenge over at the Altered Elusions blog, and the theme this fortnight is 'Travel'. You can make whatever you like to enter into the challenge, so why not have a go? There are some great prizes.

Lindsay from LEJ designs is offering the Winner 3 digi images of their choice.

Jess from Floppy Lattes is offering a $10 voucher to spend in the shop.

 

Heather from Fresh Brewed Designs is offering 3 Digis of the Winners choice.

I have used a couple of images from Floppy Latte in my project this week, 'Sea Captain' and 'Ship'. I printed the ship image onto a digital download from Chocolate Baroque. It is Called 'Around the World'. It is such a useful download, it is like a grid, suggesting an old map possibly. I burnt the edges with a candle. I then spritzed the background, and rubbed some coffe over the damp areas to age the surface. I raided the kitchen even further by adding some netting to my background used to hold some oranges. I threaded some string through the background in a large running stitch.

I added a tando compass, coloured with Distress ink, and stamped an anchor and a saying taken from the 'Seashell Collage' stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. I coloured the sea captain with Polychromos. I have used a piece of pearlescent blue card as the mat for my project as a suggestion of the sea.

I had a lot of fun making this project! I don't normally make nautical projects, so this was a real change for me.

We have just come back from a weekend up at the Norfolk coast. We visited lots of coastal gems like Wells next the sea;

Aren't these beach huts gorgeous?

We also visited Sheringham and Cockley Cley, I just want to show you that we did enjoy beautiful blue skies just for a day or two!

I hope that you are enjoying lovely weather today, it looks set to be fabulous all week now fingers crossed.

Don't forget to pop over to the AE blog to see what my Design Team mates have been making, and thanks for stopping by, xx

Forgotten Friday 60- Well Done to my Daughter!

Hi Folks, it's Friday again, and time for my Forgotten Friday post. Phew, this week has flown by! We have been up to Stoke on Trent for Megan's graduation ceremony, which took place on Tuesday. The weather was absolutely terrible on the day, it rained for the whole time. The grass was soggy, and it was such a shame, as the ceremony was held in Trentham Gardens, a really lovely setting. However, the students enjoyed their day, and the weather didn't dampen their spirits.

I hate having my photograph taken, but will suffer the anguish to have a picture with Megan. She looked lovely on the day, and we were very proud of her.

The following day, we helped her move house, just around the corner, as she is staying in Stoke to work for the time being. She is one of the lucky ones who has found employment after leaving University.

My Forgotten Friday project for this week was her graduation card. I knew exactly which stamps I wanted to use on her card, and they are stamps that I haven't used for five years, so I think that they qualify for this post very well! They are a set of Non Sequitur stamps 'House of Belonging', and are very apt for Megan particularly. She may not have realised in the rush of the day, but she reads my blog, and will understand from this post. Her dissertation in a nutshell, dealt with how women are regarded by society, by men, and by themselves. Whether the media, men, or even they, have allowed their image to become the way they are viewed currently. The background stamp reads "Be still woman, and know who you are" and the main image is of a young woman reading a book. I chose a very vintage feel to the card, while depicting a young woman of learning. I have also included a stamp from a Hot Picks Paper Artsy plate that has never been inked before.

I have used Distress Stains for the background, and second generation stamping for the words, so that they are not too overpowering. I have added some cream lace and ribbon roses in a shabby pink to match the background. The image is coloured with my faithful Polychromos and placed onto an embossed background.

Why don't you have a rummage and see what you have lying neglected in your craft supplies. If you make something, please leave a comment, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Forgotten Friday 59- Turtally Cute!

Hi Folks, well it's Friday again, I don't know where that week went. I've been to my Daughter's helping her to pack ready for a house move. She is moving from Student accomodation, as she has now finished University. She found out this week that she had achieved a 2:1 in her degree, which she was over the moon about. We are very proud of her.

I have made a card today incorporating some lovely stamps designed by a Canadian designer Ryn I have been sitting on these stamps for a little while, too busy to use them, but I knew exactly how I wanted to make this card. I decided to go ahead and use them for a Forgotten Friday project, as it was the only way that I would find time to use them!

I started by making a background using Ecoline inks on watercolour paper, and dropping sea salt onto the paper while it was still wet. The salt makes beautiful patterns in the ink. I make these backgrounds a lot, as every one is different. Once the background was dry, I brushed the salt away, and stamped the seaweed stamp along the bottom using blue and green Archival ink. I stamped the water droplets stamp a couple of times across the page, after planning where the little turtle would be placed.

I stamped the turtle onto white card a couple of times, and then coloured the image with Polychromos pencils.

Why not have a rummage through your crafty stash and see what you have neglected. If you make something, leave a comment, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Bold little Bird

Hi folks, I have something a little bit different to show you today. I needed to make a card for my Dad for Father's Day, and had been sitting on these gorgeous stamps for a little while. They are from Designs By Ryn and are really unusual. I love hummingbirds, and this design really caught my eye. One of my followers is on the Design Team, and she has made some fabulous cards with some of Ryn's stamps. I have a few more of the stamps to play with, and already know what I want to make. Hopefully, I'll get to create the cards over the next couple of weeks, time permitting.

For this card, I stamped the Hummingbird onto white card, and masked the image with Eclipse masking tape. I made a background using Pan Pastels in various soft shades of blue, turquoise and lilac. I then stamped the leafy branch with Versafine, and used two shades of green to cover the stamped areas. I coloured the bird using Polychromos pencils, basing the colour scheme on various images that I found on Google. I stamped a simple Stampin' up sentiment in the corner using Memento Pear Tart ink.

My Dad lives 230 miles away from me, so I can't spend Father's Day with him. However, I'm going to see him next week, so that's not so bad. He is 80 next month, so I need to get my thinking cap on for a very special Birthday card!

I'd like to enter this card into the Pan Pastels Challenge which is for Father's Day/ Boys so my card fits the bill.

Thanks for stopping 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

Catching up

Hi folks, it's been a while since I've written a blog post, but things have been rather uncomfortable for me of late. I've really struggled since I had my teeth sorted out, and had to make a couple of trips back to the Dentist. Thankfully, everything is now on the mend, and although I'm not eating crunchy foods yet, I am getting back to normal.

I have had a frozen shoulder for the past few months, which has been really painful. It has kept me awake at night, and caused me a lot of trouble. Yesterday, I had a procedure carried out which hopefully will free up the shoulder socket, and give me more movement. It wasn't pleasant, and I have had two lots of physiotherapy since. I need to do four lots of exercises a day, and keep everything moving now, or the whole process will have been for nothing. Fingers crossed I won't need to have surgery and will be back to normal soon. It makes me very aware that I'm not getting any younger, as my body keeps giving me these signs that it is not working as efficiently as it was when I was in my twenties. Heaven help me when I get to my Mum's age!

In spite of the tooth trouble, and the shoulder problems, I am still managing to get some crafting done! I have posted details of a card using some great new Easter themed stamps from Chocolate Baroque over on the Design Team Blog today. It uses some great Spring colours, yellow and purple. I made the card while I was staying at my Mum's recently, and even cadged a piece of ribbon from her crafty stash!

While using this stamp plate, 'Baroque Eggs', I made another simple Easter card using one of the large eggs, which I stamped onto acetate, and foiled the back. Glenda sells some sheets of imitation gold leaf on the website, which are great for this. I used my favourite Memento ink colour at the moment, Cantaloupe, to colour the background, and stamped the large swirl in the same colour. I used some of Glenda's fab ribbon for the bow, and some lace from my stash to finish the card. The sentiment is from the same stamp plate as the eggs. It's an A4 set, and has some great images.

I can't eat chocolate, as it gives me migraines, but I love this time of year, buying Easter eggs for the rest of my family. Wouldn't you love to get an egg that looked like this?

I will try to be back on Friday with a Forgotten Friday post, poorly shoulder permitting. It may be something simple if I'm not up to much, so please bear with me if that is the case. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Clean and Simple by Shirley

Hi folks, I'm just popping in to show you a tag that Shirley has sent me a photograph of, for this week's Forgotten Friday post. Shirley has recently treated herself to some Polychromos, and is getting on really well with them.

She has used a lovely image from Chocolate Baroque, which she has stamped in Stone Gray Stazon ink, before colouring it with the pencils, and blending them. She has done a fabulous job.

She has inked around the edges with Distress inks. Shirley says that this clean and simple style is very unusual for her. 


Thank you for letting us see your tag Shirley, and thank you to everyone 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

Forgotten Friday 34- Paper Artsy Tag

Hi folks, it's Friday again, and time to rummage through your forgotten stash. Have a look to see what crafty items you have neglected, and make something with them.

This week, I have chosen to make a Kraft tag, using stamps from Paper Artsy. I have lots of their stamps, that don't get a proper airing. Some of these haven't been used before, so it was a good excuse to get them out and make this tag. I decided to use the lovely bluebell stamp, so chose a blue theme for my tag. I used some  Versamagic chalk inks to make the background, and then stamped the flower with a sepia Archival ink. I coloured the flowers with my Polychromos pencils, and added lots of smaller stamps to build up the completed tag.

If you care to make something yourself with some forgotten items, leave a comment, and I'll pop along to your blog to take a look. 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                           

Forgotten Friday 15- Butterflies and Blossom

Hi folks, it's Friday again, boy these weeks are flying past! It's time to look through your forgotten and neglected stash again, to see what is lurking unused in your craft areas. Try and make something with what you find, and leave a comment attached to this post, and I'll pop along to your blog and take a look at what you've made.

At this time of year, our garden is full of beautiful blossom. The lilac is particularly lovely, we have white and purple varieties.

Aren't they pretty? I think that this is my favourite time of year in the garden, and it's not too hot for me either, as I suffer from sunstroke when it gets too hot.
Anyway, I wanted to make something that refelected this lovely period, and looked through my stamps. I couldn't find anything in my wood mounted stamps, and had just about given up hope, when by chance I spied a cheap little set from Papermania 'Butterfly Medley' which were perfect. I had never used them, so they qualified for today's spot.
I started with a backing paper from K & Co, from the same pad that I used a couple of weeks ago, and used another unused item, my 'sew easy' to mark out the stitch holes, and then hand stitched my backing papers together. I had to use a pricking tool to go through both layers, but I knew about this in advance, as I had read the write ups about the tool. It was still quite a doddle to use. I then took a piece of music paper, with the perfect wording on it, and coloured this with Distress Inks, and added this to my card. I stamped out my images, and coloured them with Polychromos pencils, I love these for the colour choices I have.
The finishing touch was to add some Scrabble pieces, and the card was done.

Now, I have based my card on a card made by a very talented lady called Peet. I will give you her blog link in a second. I found her through another blog that I follow called 'Inspired by'. This lady chooses an artist each week and a different card each day, shows the card, and then makes a card, putting her own slant on the card. She is very talented in her own right, and makes some lovely cards. Her blog is here Peet's card that I based mine on can be found here and her link is in that post.
Both blogs are fab.
I hope you get a chance to join in with my Forgotten Friday challenge this week, thanks for stopping by, Judith xx
 

Forgotten Friday 10- Tim Holtz and grunge

Hi folks, well as this post appears, I will be almost landing in Malta! My OH and I are having a long weekend away, as he really needs a break before a very long busy season ahead.
This week I have been rummaging in my Tim Holtz Ideology box for things to put on a special Birthday card. I needed to make a card for my Daughter's Boyfriend, who is in his third year at University, doing a Graphics course. He always has his head over the laptop, or his phone, so I thought that this image from Mo Manning was very apt. I wanted to make his card very shabby and distressed, very like the cool shopping labels that he gets on his clothes, I pinched a couple from Megan's room recently, and I'd love to alter them in some way!

Aren't they fabulous? Anyway, I took inspiration from the colours, and looked through my scrapbook papers that I normally just can't bear to use, and found a great piece from Pink Paislee. I added some Brown card from my Linen Closet Stack by DCWV, and I was nearly there.
I printed off my image, and coloured it with Polychromos pencils, and then scuffed all of the card edges, adding Vintage Photo Distress Ink to highlight the distressing.

Don't forget to have a look through your own stash, play along, and make something with your neglected or forgotten craft goodies. When I'm back from my travels, if you leave a comment, I'll pop along to your blog to take a look at what you have made.
Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Forgotten Friday 9- Dream

Hi folks, it's Friday again, and time to raid my craft room for some forgotten or neglected stash. This week, I have chosen to use two stamps that I bought a year ago, after seeing a lovely project in the Craft Stamper magazine by Jo Capper-Sandon. I wanted to make something similar as a present for a special person. Time got in the way, and the stamps didn't get used.

Anyway, I decided that this spot was a good excuse to get them out and give them an airing. The stamps are both by Lost Coast, and are lovely, I will use them again, now that I've recovered them! I've used a particular colour scheme, as this card has a destination. It was hard to photograph the Glossy Acents on the decoupaged butterfly, so please forgive the funny camera angle.

I have stamped the image onto Hot Pressed watercolour paper, hence the slight texture of the paper, but I really like to use this medium for stamping. I have used Polychromos pencils to colour the image.

I love the dreamy quality of this image, and the text fits the image perfectly. I chose not to use the other two portions of the definition, which were Magic and Love.
Don't forget to leave a link in your comment if you manage to join in with my Forgotten Friday post, and I'll pop along to your blog to have a look. Don't worry if it's halfway through next week either, as I'm away this weekend, visiting my parents, and going to the GNPE Show at Harrogate, so I won't be back until Monday.
Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Bah Humbug things that fly

This week over at Bah Humbug the challenge was to make a card or project incorporating something to do with 'Things that Fly'. I chose to use a lovely stamp from Elusive Images of a bird house and two robins. I coloured my image with Polychromos pencils, and mounted it onto a fabulous backing paper printed onto pearlescent paper. My paper design comes from the Essence of Nature CD, again from Elusive Images. I have used a Martha Stewart branch punch, and a fun sentiment to finish my card off.

Don't forget to go and see what everyone else has been up to this week over on the Bah Humbug blog, and watch out for Friday, as there's an extra treat in store!!!
Thanks for popping by today, Judith xx