Christmas in July

Yes, that's the theme for the Stampotique Designers Challenge no. 11! I decided to ignore the traditional Christmas colour schemes for this one, and as well as Stampotique's 'Sheer' I've used the 'Serene Snowflakes' set from Stampin Up! The background panel was created using glossy white card on which I stamped the large snowflakes using Ranger resist ink, then brayered over with Kaleidacolor Creole Spice. I stamped the smaller snowflakes on top using Memento inks in Paris Dusk and Sweet Plum. The lettering was made by running a strip of white card through a Dymo machine and then sponging with Spiced Marmalade distress ink.

X...

... marks the spot! Here is my X inchy for the Inchy by Inch alphabet challenge.

W for ...

.. WREN. My W for the Inchy by Inch alphabet challenge.

Paper Soft trials

Here are a couple of cards I made over the weekend using Paper Soft. I found it relatively easy to use (after a little practice) with cut & dry foam, and with a foam brush - covers the cardstock well, blends nicely and does not take too long to dry. You can apply it very lightly or more heavily for a deeper or more intense colour. Because it goes on very sparingly, it is not too 'wet' and so does not really cockle the paper like most paints would do.

On the first card I used cobalt blue and magenta, both for the background and I also applied it with a small sponge to the diamonds stamp. This worked well, although I wouldn't use it for a very detailed stamp.

The owl card has a background of cobalt blue Paper Soft which I applied onto cream card - this has given it a more 'turquoise' result. I then over stamped it with a leaf stamp with the same colour PSoft. The oval was embossed using Tim Holtz's woodgrain embossing folder, and then coloured with walnut brown Paper Soft.

V for...

VISION. The Inchy by Inch challenge is getting harder now we are nearing the end of the alphabet and those pesky W, X, Y & Z!

Ready-Steady-STAMP! Challenge 24

The RSS Challenge has been changed slightly - we now have a much longer list of ingredients from which we must use at least five. This new challenge is to alter a book, notebook or journal. I was lucky to find this green spiral bound notebook in a local stationers, reduced to only 99p! Here are a list of the ingredients I have used:

Masculine sample.

Dry embossed background: I have used a Tim Holtz embossing folder and then coloured with walnut brown Paper Soft.

Use Paper Soft or Distress Inks: Lime green Paper Soft has been used to colour the background panel, with a hint of walnut brown around the edges. I have also used the same green to colour the card for the shield. Scattered Straw distress ink used on the card on which the pen nibs are stamped.

Colours: cream, brown and green.

Coat of Arms: I have used the shield stamp and quote.

Metal embellishment: I have added a metal corner bracket and a sprocket with a brad.

All the stamps are by Paper Artsy.

Paper Soft

It's funny, I had never heard of this product until this week and then I see it mentioned twice! Once in a project in the latest Craft Stamper magazine, and again on the Ready Steady Stamp! challenge blog. Isabelle Norris has used it and has also posted a demo of it on her blog. As usual I can never resist a new craft product so I ordered 4 pots of Paper Soft from L.B. Crafts yesterday afternoon. To my great surprise they arrived this morning - what fantastic service! The new challenge on RSS includes using this product if you have it, and the colours are green and brown. By a strange little bit of serendipity I had actually picked these two colours in my order. So I am planning to try it out over the next few days and also to complete my project for the challenge... so watch this space!

Paper Soft is a water based paint by Viva - specifically developed for papercraft. It comes in a jar with a big sponge on the top, and you can pick up small amounts with cut & dry foam or similar and then blend onto your cardstock.