I wanted to try the faux embossed background idea using die cut words, so this was my attempt :D Its using the scripty thanks die by Lawn Fawn and a few stamp sets from Craft Asylum... I really love the way it came out, I had originally planned for it to be simpler, but I still like the final result :D All the flowers and leaves were stamped using memento dew drop ink pads, they were a more solid style of stamp, so I stamped them in solid colours, then added a sketchy outline using a super fine pitt pen :D I really love this look of the overlayed outline slightly off set from the main image :D I'm hoping to do a few more cards in this style, the only down side is the amount of times you need to die cut the word lol, I think I used about 8 white ones for the background, then from the main sentiment in black, I die-cut three and stacked them up to make it a more substantial element :D
I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge 'Anything Goes'
I made this card using the Paper Smooches stamp set 'Great Chemistry' I love this set of stamps as I'm just about to graduate from my chemistry degree and this set has been perfect for making congratualtion cards for my fellow class mates :D and even Thank you cards for lecturers :D I had my last exam three weeks ago, and I have missed being able to craft all day sooo much, I have made sooo many cards, and I'm just getting round to uploading them onto my blog :D I used the My Favourite Things 'stitched rectangle stax' and 'blueprints 13' die sets and I used a mix of Spectrum Noir and Promarkers for the colouring :D
I'm entering this card into the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge :D
Paper Smooches Website: www.papersmoochesstamps.com
I love love love this card :D :D :D I used the little nurses hat from the Paper Smooches stamp set 'Noggin' (love that name!!), the cute tortoise was from the 'Year Two' mini Lawn Fawn stamp set, and the plaster and get well soon sentiment were from the first ever wood mounted stamp I brought (which was more than 10 years ago now, so I have no idea which company made it lol :D). The scrap of patterned paper was from a 6x6 docrafts paper pad :D The stitched dies are from the My Favourite Things 'die-namics stitched rectangle stax' and the largest is from the 'blueprints 13' die set :D (That poor die has been used sooo many times, I've only had it a month, and I've seriously used it more than 100 times, best die purchase ever!!) All the images were coloured using a mix of Spectrum Noir markers and Promarkers :D Once I made this card, I loved it so much that I made a blue version :D
And then, I thought what about changing it up a bit and using a mouse... so I used the cute little mouse out of the Paper Smooches stamp set 'Great Chemistry' (Love this set!) and I did a red and blue version of that too :D :D
I'm entering this card into the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge :D :D
Paper Smooches Website: www.papersmoochesstamps.com
I love this range by docrafts, I brought this kit ages ago, and finally got round to making a card with it :D I also combined some my favourite things dies and some lawn fawn clouds dies to change it up a bit and steer away from the usual rectangle on rectangle look I always seem to create when I use a card kit, and I really like the way it turned out :) There wasn't a sentiment that I liked to suit the layout I wanted so I cut this one from a piece of patterened paper :D
I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Blog Challenge 'Summer' :D
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/
And also the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge 'Anything Goes' :D
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/
This card is very similar to the previous two versions in yellow and pink, and so naturally I had to try a coral version, I don't have abandoned coral distress colour, so I mixed a little wild honey and picked raspberry with a dash of worn lipstick to create this peachy coral colour :D The leaves were peeled paint and pine needles as before, and the background colour is broken china :D I tried a different configuration for this card as I wanted a bigger pannel of the background, so I used a rectangular stitched stax die and then created a cluster with the sentiment in the bottom left corner :D
I'm enetering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog 'Don't abandon the coral'
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/
I started these cards with the background technique of
brayering paint… I used a few different colours of Artiste acrylic paints to
build up the bulk of the background… and then added drips and splotches of ink
sprays (a watered down version of dylusions) to fill in more of the background
colour. The cards are A6 in size and I used the largest of the Simon Says Stamp
stitched circle dies to create the aperture… the messy outside was created by
flicking some different coloured inks in a diagonal across the front of the
card, and then to add some more interest I used some ‘sequin’ stamps from a
Heidi Swapp stamp set with distress inks, I think this just balanced the design…
Two of the focal images are stamped with black soot distress ink, and the third
was stamped and embossed in black, just to make it stand out a bit… Finally to finish
them off I added a sentiment using (a very ancient) dymo labeller with 6mm wide
tape, on a few of them I had originally used a 9mm tape, but I thought that it
was too wide for the card…. Because this was kind of a messy card, I also added
in a white insert just to hide where I’d stuck the panel behind the aperture.
Once I’d finished these cards I really thought that the style reminded me of
the title sequence for the BBC version on The Musketeers :D
To see the process behind these cards, please check out my Youtube video:
Again my sister wanted to try filming and editing some more
live action of me making cards, however it’s taken me this long to get round to
uploading it :D
I am entering these cards into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Blog Challenge 'Anything Goes' :D http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/
I also used a bit of punchanella on some of the backgrounds, which can be seen in this card :D
I made a pink version of a card very similar to this, and I just had to have a go at a yellow version :D I used the rose stamp from the Docrafts Simply Floral stamp set, I embossed it in white onto some watercolour paper, and I used distress stains to watercolour it. Broken China for the background, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles for the leaves and Antique Linen, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade for the roses. I used a stitched square die four times to create the panels (I also have the negative space which I made into another shaker card). I painted an extra rose for the focal point. The hearts are double embossed with white embossing powder so they match the white of the line art. The sentiment is stamped and embossed in white and then coloured in with a mix of Peeled Paint and Pine Needles distress stains to match the leaves :D I really enjoyed making this card, I love the bright colours!! and I made it as a treat to myself for just handing in my dissertation, and its a thank you for my mum becuase she proof read it for me, which must have been hard when she didn't understand a single word, I think only a chemsitry student would know anything about Supercapacitors lol :D
This is the shaker card I made with the neagtive space too, I used the other half of the CD pocket I used in the pink version.... I can't decide which one is my favourite though :D :D
I recently got a Docrafts Simply Floral stamp set, and as soon as I saw the rose image on the set, this idea came to mind... the original idea was for the card on the left, however, I think I prefer the one on the right (the shaker card).... I started off with a piece of watercolour paper, I then used white Artiste pigment ink to stamp the roses randomly across the watercolour paper, and then I used Cosmic Shimmer True White detail embossing powder over the top. For the watercolouring, I used Distress Stains by putting some out on my glass cutting mat and then applying it with a paint brush. The background was a mix of Broken Chine and a tiny bit of Weathered Wood, the leaves were Peeled Paint and Forest Moss and the roses were a mix of Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry.... When it was finihsed I used a fine paint brush dipped in water and flicked it over the surface to get tiny water droplets which picked up the colour and added a little texture.... I cut the watercoloured piece down to 5" x 5" and then I used the My Favourite Things stitched square stax dies, I picked one and then lined it up four separate times to get the windows or pannels depending on which card.... I made one simple card just using the pannels and then adding a sentiment... then with the window pannel, I decided to make it into a shaker card using an embossing folder in the background to add a bit of texture to the large windows.... I used a few crystal seed beads and the sequins were from a nail art set I got in Poundland :D oh and instead of using acetate, I used half of a plastic CD wallet, I wanted it to give a softer feel, but as I used a white background it's not very noticable....
I am entering these cards into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog challenge 'Make your own Background' :D http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/
I've wanted to try this idea for ages... I printed an image of a stags head, then I traced it onto some acetate with a sharpie, I then cut it out and used a temporary spray adhesive on the back. I placed this in the centre of a piece of watercolour card cut out using a stitched rectangle die. I then used my dylusions ink sprays (but with a paint brush) and randomly added colour over the mask to the backgound... I used calypso teal, fresh lime and polished jade. Once dried I removed the mask and added a little stenciling using a small circles stencil and some broken china distress ink on some cut and dry foam. For finishing touches, I also added a few spots of crystal stickles and some white dots, then stamped the greeting, its from the lawn fawn year two stamp set with the little tortoise in :D
I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog challenge 'Happy Birthday'
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/
I've been loving using watercolours recently, and as a break from writing my dissertation, I made this Mother's Day card for my mum... It was great fun just sketching a daffodil and adding all the sketchy accents on top (another technique I really like at the moment :D) And of course it wouldn't be complete without one of my bumblebees :D
I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Blog Challenge 'Spring Pintrest Inspiration' http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/
I made the card in the middle as my first YouTube video... My sister Animatortor (http://www.animatortor.com/) has been asking me to let her film me make a card for ages, and I finally agreed :D
I started with an A6 piece of watercolour paper, a butterfly stamp (this one was from a Studio 490 set) and Antique Linen Distress Ink.The stamp is mainly just for the rough outline of the butterfly, so any make of stamp would work, and I used Distress Ink as it's reactive with water so isn't noticable in the final design :D I then used my Winsor and Newton Cotman Watercolours to paint them... For the organey red one I used Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow, Alizarin Crimson for the darker tones and then a mix of Dioxazine Violet and Paynes Gray for the body... For the green one I used Sap Green, Emerald, Hookers Green, Viridian and a touch of Cadium Yellow and for the darker tones and the body I used a mix of Prussian Blue and Intense Blue... Finally for the purple butterfly I used Permanent Rose, Purple Lake and Dioxazine Violet and then for the body I used Paynes Gray :D
After I'd finished painting the butterflies I added some splashes using the same colours I'd used on the butterfly wings, and I then dragged and added loose whisps of colour from the main image to create a loose watercoloured effect :D I then added rough sketchy outlines to each of the butterflys, it's amazing how such a detailed butterfly stamp can be transformed into a modernised sketchy style :D (I think this had to be my favourite part of the card!) The sentiments 'Let's Party' and 'Thank you' were from a Paper Smooches stamp set called Noggin Toppers... I stamped the sentiment and then to continue the loose theme I extended it with extra swirls :D
To see the process behind these cards, please watch my Youtube video below:
Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to view my blog :D This will hopefully be the first of many videos, although then next one might not be up for a while...
I've also decided to enter this card into the Simon Says All Things Bright and Beautiful Wednesday Blog Challenge http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/
Here's a close up of the final card made in the video...
