Haiku book

This is a 3-D card/booklet containing Japanese haiku by Basho.  The calligraphy and backgrounds were all done with watercolours on watercolour paper.

Printer's Tray

I bought this printer's tray some time ago from one of my local craft shops and have been enjoying decorating it. I decided to do each 'compartment' differently but with an overall vintage theme. I have used a variety of printed papers, stamping and using 3-D items such as the flower, metal charms and the tiny bottle. It was a lot of fun to create but I am just wondering what to do with it now... if I hang it up it will just get very dusty and I haven't got a glass fronted cabinet to display it!

Oh brother!

I've made this card for my brother's birthday. It is using a technique that I saw in the Australian Stamping and Card Making magazine: run a sheet of metal (I used PaperArtsy's metal on card) through an embossing folder, colour with alcohol inks and black StyzOn to highlight the raised areas. When the inks are completely dry, you swipe a Versamark ink pad over the surface and sprinkle over clear UTEE and heat. You keep adding more UTEE until you are happy with the result. I used Grungeboard letters for the word brother which I inked black and then covered with crackle accents.

Flag books

Here are a couple of flag books I've made containing some calligraphy.  The first one (above) is tiny, measuring 75mm x 42mm when closed. The Country Proverbs book is much larger - around A5 size - and has been decorated with inking and stamping. I used gouache and a metal nib for the writing on both books.

Sew much fun!

I have mentioned this before - I have never been fond of sewing. But I have been trying out some hand stitching on cards recently and actually enjoyed it! Here are a few cards which I have made.

On the first one I have kept it fairly simple using a stamp by Artemio on a background using pigment inks and then adding a small zig-zag of stitching with black thread. The coloured 'squares' on the base card were made using Tim Holtz's scratches stamp in both directions, and then I coloured in some of the spaces using Distress Markers.

This card has a stitched border around the edge of patterned paper which I first stamped and clear embossed the flowers and butterflies by Hero Arts, then sponged Distress Ink over and around the embossing. I've finished it off with a lace flower, ribbon and a tiny tag.









For my third card I have used a Dina Wakley stamp on a background of waste paper that I had used underneath various other projects. I layered this onto red card and added a line of wonky (deliberate) stitching in red. I have used the 'crinkled ink' technique on the base card, stamped the quote (by PaperArtsy) which I covered with a strip of Tim Holtz film strip, and finally added two Hero Arts butterflies decorated with Indian bindis.

 

Create with abandon

Sorry it's such a long time since I posted anything here - I had a few problems after the Blogger upgrade, but all seems OK now. 

So here are a couple of cards I've just made using stamps by Dina Wakley. The first one using the fab 'create with abandon' stamp in which I created a colourful background by dabbing dye inks around the edge of an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing onto card. The second card has a background using the wrinkle free distress technique with some added texture and glitter by adding some holographic embossing powder. The 'boys star' stamp has been embossed using gold and silver ep.

Mother's Day Card

This is the card I have made for my Mum for Mother's Day on Sunday. I guess most of you will recognise the famous Tim Holtz stamp I have used! I had this lovely background paper which is printed with vintage dressmaking images, so I dug out this stamp (which I haven't used for ages) to go with it. Then I just added a couple of hearts, a flower, some ribbon and buttons to complete the card... easy peasy. I think Mum will like the colour scheme - her favourite colour is beige!!!

SDC 49: purple & pink with black

A colour challenge this time for the Stampotique Designers Challenge ... and in some of my favourite colours! I've used Stampotique's Arty for this card on a background which was created by dabbing Distress Inks on an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing onto card.

The flowers were made using die cut scalloped circles, inking, 'cuttling' and then layering. I have used some of the new 'newsprint' card candi for the flower centres. I love these especially as the text printed on them contain words about flowers and plants.

Tiny houses

The other stamps I recently bought from Crafty Individuals are these gorgeous little houses. Joanne Wardle used them in a recent edition of Craft Stamper and I just had to get them! Crafty Individuals usually send you some free small stamps with an order, which is always a wonderful surprise.


On the first card I have used one of the stamps and coloured the houses individually using Pro Markers. The faux wall was made simply using small strips of paper and an old book page, the edges inked with brown, and then glued on 'brick' style (I saw this idea in an Australian card making magazine and thought it would work well on this).


For the other card I decided to go for a clean and simple design.... as a complete change from my usual style!! This time I stamped the houses onto patterned paper, added a scalloped border and then glued to the card. I used one of the free stamps I received along the bottom of the card. To finish, I used this Craft Stamper freebie chandelier stamp at the top, and added a few tiny gems.

SDC 48

The latest Stampotique Designers Challenge is to CASE a Stampotique designer - standing for Copy And Steal Everything. This was not as easy as it sounds!!! It took me ages (not to mention a few dud trials) to decide which of the designers to CASE and eventually went for Kate Crane. Here is my poor effort which is not a copy of one particular piece of Kate's work, but using some of her ideas. I have used various sprays on the background, acrylic paint and gesso to create the circles and rings. See more of Kate's MUCH more superior work at The Kathryn Wheel.

Adding a bit of glitz!

This background on this card was inspired by another idea in Craft Stamper. I used the 'wrinkle free distress' technique on the central panel and dried it using a heat tool. Then I dipped the card onto the craft mat again and sprinkled some glittery embossing powder over it and heated. This creates some nice random texture and glitz on your background. The stamped images I've added are some new stamps that I've just bought by Crafty Individuals.

Painting with Distress Stains

In the January edition of Craft Stamper there was a project by Liesbeth Fidder on using Distress Stains to paint stamped images, and I decided to have a go! I have used this image by PaperArtsy which was stamped in black onto glossy card. In CS Liesbeth used Teykol, a resist medium, to create white highlights before adding the colour but, as I didn't have any of this, I tried white wax crayon instead. Then I added the DS colours straight from the bottles onto the image. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and I really like how the colours mix and blend on the paper. I finished this card off by adding a Tim Holtz adage ticket and an acetate shape by Kaisercraft.

His & Hers Drinks Coasters

I was in my local library a few days ago and I spotted some coasters advertising the local comedy festival. Naturally I helped myself to a few thinking that they may come in useful for a craft project some time. Then I saw that the latest Stampotique Designers Challenge theme is altered items ... so perfect timing! I thought it would be fun to make a pair of 'his & hers' coasters.

I inked up some thin white card with Distress Inks, using masks to provide some texture and interest to the backgrounds. Then added some water spatters, flicks of Chalk Mists and rings which were made using a couple of lids dipped into puddles of Distress Stains. I stamped Stampotique's Smile and Sheer in black ink, then glued the card to the coasters, trimming and sanding the edges slightly. The words were stamped using small alphabet stamps, cut out and glued on. Finally I gave them both several coats of acrylic spray varnish.

Oil pastel backgrounds

I bought some water soluble oil pastels at the NEC last November for creating coloured backgrounds... this was being demonstrated by the PaperArtsy team. I had a very quick try out when I got home, but it wasn't very successful. So they have been lying about unused since then, but last week I decided I really must get to grips with them!! I soon discovered what I had been doing wrong the first time and managed to get a good result at last. You blend the pastels on the card with your finger and I really like the bright colours they create. You can also blend two or more colours together. I had to make some ATCs for a couple of swaps I am involved in, so decided to use the oil pastels for the backgrounds. I used various inks for my stamping including Versafine, Memento, Archival and dye inks - they all worked well on the oil pastel surface.

In the middle ATC I used Stampotique's Smile and the other two both use stamps by PaperArtsy.