Calendar Challenge Week 3

This week's theme for the Craft Barn Calendar challenge is Green and Flowers. No problems with inspiration there... I have plenty of flowers stamps! My choice of images has been constrained by the technique I wanted to use on this page as not all rubber stamps work equally well (acrylic stamps work even less well).

To take advantage from the watercolour paper my calendar is made from, I applied watercolour crayons (Neocolor but Inktense blocks would work) directly to the stamps and sprayed with water before stamping the flowers. The butterfly has been stamped with regular inkpad before coloring and then masked before stamping the central flower.

If you have never tried this technique have a go,  it's unpredictable but great fun!

Calendar Challenge Week 2

For this second week the theme of the Craft Barn Calendar challenge is Red and embossing

I have put a smattering of red, including the heart which received the embossing treatment. It is not visible in the picture but I have taken inspiration from Isa's project and flicked a few specks of gold embossing powder before covering the lot with clear powder for a distressed effect.

I took advantage of the calendar being made out of watercolour paper and painted the background and stamped images with watercolour paints.

Hope you'll like it.

Calendar Challenge : Week 1

For the next 12 weeks the Craft Barn has a Calendar challenge. Each week one calendar or one page of the calendar must be done using the Week 1 Challenge theme, blue and crackle.

I have decided to do a full calendar, on the basis that among my stash I do have a blank that I have failed to tackle so far and this is the push I needed.

My page this week has some stamping, stencilling and crackle. The latter doesn't show too well in the picture. Some of the colour choices were dictated by the supplies I had, and I faced several hiccups along the way... unlike a card, where one can start all over again if necessary, with this calendar there is only one chance !

Thanks for coming by,

Hanging about...

The Crafty Individuals challenge for September is "Hanging about", literally (as a physical hanging) or not. I have chosen the latter after researching a way to make my stamped image "hang" within an easel type card and finding that yes, it DID hang but it just didn't look right.

So, as I am attracted to photographic stamps these days and was really looking forward to use the CI - 284  stamp, I went for a non literal "hanging" and my gals are indeed hanging about!

I have first inked a piece of card with distress inks and then stamped in black ink over the top. I used a Spellbinder label to cut the stamped image out the cardstock and then cut another piece from the remaining inked cardstock to use as a "shadow" frame.  

Rather than use patterned paper on the right of the card I used Tim Holtz tissue tape.

Tip: I often use the tape as masking tape when I ink cardstock and hey presto, as a bonus to my inked cardstock, I get inked tissue tape which matches my project. If I don't need it I just keep it for a later project.

Thanks for coming by,

Gilded Christmas Tree

I got some rolls of silver and gold foil last year and have loads left so what better to use it on Christmas makes!

The main image has been embossed with a folder then glue pen applied on the raised areas then the foil. To ensure that the foil is in good contact all around the embossing the easiest is to put the card back into the folder and press firmly. I am still working on the best way to apply the glue... may try a brayer next.