Another wet Bank Holiday

Trust British weather to give us clouds, rain and cold temperatures over the Bank Holiday after giving us the hottest week on record…

 

Soooo rain it is….

 

As serendipity would have it, I received this wonderful stamp set from Dot at InkArt Designs, who had a birthday this week, and it was only fair I should create a Birthday card with it!

All the images are from the same stamp set, Sparkle in the rain (Visible Image), which Dot happens to have on offer, so if you're in the southern hemisphere... hop to it!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Lost Coast Designs, and Paperbabe  challenges.

Sandy Beach

Another empty beach... an obsession of mine methinks!

This is made with a single image, "Escape" by Penny Black, stamped in colour (I inked the stamp with pens) and added Distress inks for the sky, sea and sand with brushes.

I don't know if you've managed trips to the beach this year but how I long to feel the sand between my toes, smell the sea air and feel both the heat of the sun and the cool breeze upon my skin....
Forgive the waxing lyrical!!

Have a great day,
I am entering the SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday, Allsorts, Stamping Sensations,  Ally's Angels, The Artistic Stamper and Lost Coast Designs challenges.

Chilli Hot

I wanted to join in a few challenges this weekend to push me into doing something despite the hot weather... It was (still is) hard to breathe and the cloud cover was keeping the heat in even at night.

… it is seriously hot!

Like my man, who has a birthday coming up... hence this card
 

To stamp the chillies from the Spice it Up stamp set by Rubber Dance,  I made use of my favourite tool, the stamping platform, which is essential for this result as I stamped first in colour, sometimes twice to get variation in the colour (I used Kaleidacolor inkpad with red and oranges) and then over stamped in Versamark.
For powders I used Wow! clear EP and Primary red EP "mixed" directly on the image.
The left most chilli is made up of 2 of the stamps in the set, I think the "wrinkly" one is supposed to be a dried chilli but I used it as a shadow texture on the "fresh" chilli.

For the sentiment, I partially stamped the "you are so hot" and combined it with the "Seriously" die-cut (STAMPlorations) and the "HOT" from the same stamp set as before.


To finish I was going to add some splatters but the control freak in me had a panic attack at the thought and instead I fished out an old stamp set by The Artistic Stamper, Messy Art (probably retired now). It has mostly large "splats" aimed at journaling but this particular bit is perfect for cards and I inked individual ink splats, stamping without a block exactly where I wanted them. It's all about control....
  
Now off to cool down...

Thanks for visiting today!
I am entering the SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday, Allsorts, Lost Coast Designs, The Artistic Stamper, and Stamping Sensations challenges.

Picture-esque Port

I am back for a second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge, which I am hosting this month.
The theme I chose is "I like to be beside the Seaside".
Far away from the crowded beaches of the South of England, here's a picturesque port that is as empty as a Covid19 afflicted area... OK too soon to joke about? Personally I feel the need as there are no signs of a return to normal anytime soon....

My make is a watercolour, A4 in size (8" by 11" 1/2) and, apart from the buoys and ropes, everything has been stamped not drawn.

The houses are a stamp by Picture This (Fisherman's wharf). I first printed the "mirror image" seen on the right of the picture by using my Gelli plate and Versafine ink (this gave better results than any other of my inks) and then aligned the actual stamp to the left leaving just a small gap to allow sufficient distance between the windows of the central house.

To colour, I used mainly tube watercolours and pencils for small details.

If like me you are lacking in drawing skills, the Picture This collection provides both large images (houses and buildings of different styles and eras, trees)  and accessories (cars, people, windows and doors, street lamps, beach huts etc...) to build your own scene in the countryside, seaside or town. If you aren't familiar with these designs I thoroughly recommend you have a look.

Here's the full picture:

I hope you will enjoy my chosen theme for the Country View Challenge blog and will link up many  projects. And if you do, you could be in with a chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the The Artistic Stamper challenge.

Beside the Seaside

Welcome to August and a new Country View Challenge, which this month I am hosting! I chose a theme to make me dream: the Seaside. I want to see beaches, boats, ports, beach huts, deck chairs, bathers etc… You can choose to illustrate underwater scenes too, but a single fish/seahorse/shell will not do...

This tag came by chance as I was playing with the Gelli Plate. I was searching for the perfect shape to test a technique with and grabbed this old stencil, a metal one, with a small image of a lighthouse. My initial idea came to nothing, I think because the paint had dried too much but, with nothing to lose, I added some white paint through the stencil and took the print. A bit of coloured pencils on top and voila, a naïve lighthouse scene!
My Summer Fun and the quote are from the same Rubber Dance stamp set, Retro Beach.
Have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and I hope you will play with us and share with us your Seaside!
Don't forget you will be in with a chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop if you link up your project to or challenge!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Paperbabe  challenges.