Floral card

Hello crafters!

Today is my second post on the theme of "Mother's Day/Use flower(s)" for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook group and hosted by Cassie.

I selected vellum for this card as I wanted to use coloured pencils. 

Why vellum, I hear you ask? Well, vellum has 2 advantages when it comes to coloured pencils: the first is that the paper has a texture that grabs the pencil, allowing more colour to be applied, the second, because it is semi opaque. a second layer of colour can be applied to the back for even stronger depth of colour.

First I stamped the flowers from the AALL & Create "In The Wild" stamp set (#529) in white pigment ink . Then I coloured on top with the pencils.

The image and its mat have been die-cut with the AALL & Create Splodazzlers set (#33).

Finishing touches are some of the little "bits" from the same die set and small brads I have coloured with nail varnish (in pink) and embossing powders (the black and the white brads).

To enter the challenge, hop on to our friendly group here and upload your project to the challenge album. You could win the fabulous prize pictured below, one of the just released Paper Artsy stamp set from the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield       I am entering the challenge We Love Stamping and Polkadoodles 

Wonderful Wild Flowers

Hello crafters, 

It seems summer is here at last and to celebrate I crafted this wild flower meadow.

The focal image has been built up with stamps from the Crafty Individuals set "Wild Flowers" (CI-226), inked with watercolour crayons.

The background sky and grass is also watercolour crayons, shaved over water applied with a brush. 

I then revisited my older supplies and added several layers of papers, some die-cut, one punched and some distressed and/or torn. The many layers is unusual for me and, despite my best efforts, I still didn't incorporate as many as I had planned! It just goes against the grain.

A flower made with punches and patterned vellum and a sentiment die-cut add the finishing touches. 

 

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Allsorts, Stamping Sensations, 

                                                               We Love Stamping and Addicted to Stamps challenges

Purple Crocus

Hello again! 

I have another flower card today... I just had to use this AALL & Create stamp that I won at Stamping Sensations challenge last month.

The result sadly doesn't quite match my initial vision, but I am showing it here anyway

 keeping it real...

The stamp is from the Crocus set (#624) by AALL & Create, the heart die (cut in white and then black) is from the Studio light "So Spring" (SS78) die set, and I used a scalloped die to cut the black card (Julie Hickey Designs, JHD-CUT-1003).

Once stamped, I coloured the crocus with pencils and added a bit of white acrylic splatter to finish.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Allsorts, Stamping Sensations and

                                                     We Love Stamping challenges

Botanical Prints

Hello crafters!

Today I have a first inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Flower Power" chosen by yours truly! 

A simple and popular theme, all I need to see is flowers as the prominent feature of your make.

Back in February Tim Holtz did a Live all about the Distress Watercolour pencils. These pencils being woodless they can be dunked in water without problems which allows for fun techniques. 

This was my inspiration for these makes, plural because once you start... let's just say this is perfect for mass production! A sample of the prints I did:

The technique is really simple, one spritz of water on the stamp, then apply any colour of pencils you choose to the stamp. If the water evaporates spritz some more and carry on. When all the stamp is coloured as you wish, another spritz and stamp. More water for a more watercolour effect and less if you want to keep more of the stamp details.
The stamp I used is from the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Exquisite set (CMS453).
For substrate, I used hot pressed watercolour paper to keep as much detail of the stamp. Watercolour paper is ideal for this but I did have some success on cartridge paper although it did buckle and flattening it afterwards wasn't easy.

I made 2 of my prints into these cards:

This is the one is entered in the Allsorts challenge,

and:

I hope I have inspired you and if you haven't yet do join our friendly group here and link up your project for the chance to win a prize from the Country View Craft shop. I will be back with a second floral make later in the month.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Allsorts,  We Love Stamping,

                                                         and Addicted to stamps challenges

Dapper Bunny

Hello crafters!

Today I have a second inspiration make for our Country View Challenge held in the Facebook  group. This month the theme is "Mad March Hare" which also includes rabbits and anything Easter!

This time my card doesn't even sport a sentiment on the front as, ahem, it got rather busy! Last year I made a few of these "Floating frame" cards and I just love how impressive they look. 

My focal image is the bunny from the AALL & Create Set "In the Wild" (#529), which I coloured with pencils.

The frame is made of several flowers and leaves die-cut with the Sizzix Thinlits  – Floral Layers die set (664359), which I coloured with Distress inks. I could have die cut into coloured cardstock but this gave me more control over the exact shades, as I don't have all colours of cardstock under the sun! Especially greens since I don't like them and yet there are often necessary for all the trees and leaves so I always run out!!!

And another look at the height:

So, no time to lose, create something for Easter and/or with a bunny in it, to win it! You will find our March challenge here, in our friendly Facebook group. Our prize this month is this lovely bundle....

Thanks for coming by, 

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday Allsorts, Stamping Sensations,

                                                         Addicted to Stamps  challenges

Here comes the sun

Late in the season (the one that skipped the UK entirely) I am enjoying the sunshine, and this inspired me to create a bright and cheerful tag with, literally, the flower of the sun!  

I started the background with Distress Oxide sprays and added some stamping with a very old A5 stamp by Docrafts (A5 Background clear stamp "Musicality"). 

I applied gel medium with a stencil from the Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencil Set #28 (MST028) and sprinkled Cosmic Shimmer Artic Red embossing powder over it, The EP is a translucent red but depending on the angle has a gold/green lustre to it. 

And to add a bit more bling I created a glitter border with "proper" glitter which I normally try to avoid as it has a tendency of re-appearing for days on end on any and all surfaces (including the humans in the house). 

My focal point is the sunflower that I built with the Julie Hickey Designs Sunflower Bee stamp and coordinating dies sets, with 2 die-cuts of the stamped image, one of them on foam pads. The centre is also popped up with pads to give more dimension.  

Finally, I added 3 pieces of paper ribbon (Lakeland, must be over 15 years old...). 

The shine shot...

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the SSS Wednesday SSS Monday  Allsorts,

                                                        Stamping Sensations and Lost Coast Designs challenges

Timeless

Happy New Year! 

The new year reminds us of the passing time and would you believe it Time is the theme the lovely Evelyn has chosen for our January Challenge at Country View Challenges. Clocks, etc... 

For my first inspiration post, I had fun making this Vintage inspired tag:

To make my background I stuck a piece of Gelli printed paper on a sturdy base. I used a variety of stamps and stencils to build the Gelli paper with Fresco paints.
I added some Tissue tape and embossed all around the tag with Frantage embossing powder in  Aged Rose.
The clock and Timeless sentiment is from a Stamperia sheet of chipboard stickers (Romantic Journal collection)

The lace and flower head are from my bits and bobs box.

Over to you now, have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   

Spring is here

Spring has sprung! Quite literally in the case of my make today, which is my inspiration piece for our Country View Challenge, hosted this month by Corrie. Yes, you might have guessed already our theme is Spring. 

I first used Gelatos for the background and applied Distress Oxides inks in similar colours through the Stamperia Wallpaper Fantasy (KSTDG03)12x12 stencil on top.

The focal image is a stamp from the AALL & Create Stamp Set #529 - In the Wild by Bipasha BK. I stamped it in black Versafine, removed as much colour as I could with a brush and water from the petals and re-coloured with a yellow pencil.

The sentiment has been cut with the 662228 Alpha set and Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Adventure Words Script by Tim Holtz (660224). I cut the lower case e from the enjoy word and substituted the capital E from the Alpha set.

Over to you now, have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.


Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Addicted to stamps, SSS Wednesday and Paperbabe challenges.

Burst of flowers

More flowers coming this way... 

Our Country View Challenge theme this month is Mother's Day and is hosted by Evelyn.
This is what I made for my second inspiration make: a box card full of flowers.
fun way to offer a bouquet from far away...

I won't tell you the ins and outs of the box card construction... there are plenty of tutorials on the web. My own method relied on partial die cutting and although it worked, I wouldn't recommend it! 

In my defence this is my first.... 

The box is decorated with papers from the Studio Light Memories of Summer pad. 

The die-cut flowers inside were made with Sizzix/Tim Holtz die set and an unidentified freebie die from a magazine. I also added a butterfly on a strip of acetate for that flight effect.

You now have less than 2 weeks to link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop, so hop on over to the Country View Challenge blog for more inspiration and details on how to enter.

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield  I am entering the Allsorts, Addicted to Stamps,  SSS Monday and SSS Wednesday Challenges

Hearts and Flowers Greeting card

Hello crafters, today is my turn to inspire the Country View Challenges fans with a Hearts and Flowers make, the theme chosen by Jane. Lack of imagination meant I went totally literal: 

The design would suit Valentine's Day, Mother's day or even Birthdays really! 

The flower image is a stamp from the AALL & Create Stamp Set #529 - In the Wild by Bipasha BK, and the die-cut border is an old 12x12 border die by Docrafts . 

The flowers were coloured with watercolours. 

******

Over to you now, you still have 2 weeks to link up your project to the Country View Challenges blog for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Just remember to follow the theme (make hearts and flowers obvious) AND the challenges rules!!!

Thanks for coming by,

 Craftyfield   I am entering the Paperbabe, Stamping Sensations, 

                                                     We Love Stamping challenges

Daft Odile

I know... it's only February but we are so keen to see better weather that we are looking for the first signs of Spring for our Country View Challenge, which, this month, is hosted by Miriam. I am not entirely au fait with the fauna and flora announcing spring so do excuse me if my choice is too early or too late in the season!

I used a Daffodil stamp from Creative Stamping (Issue 65) on its first ever outing. I stamped with coloured inks and added pencil shading directly on my base card.

The sentiment is made up of 2 die-cuts, both from Papertrey ink.
As a final touch, I added the die-cut waste from some earlier project cut out of thick glitter paper.

Simple but I think it does have a certain Spring vibe...

Over to you now, have a look at what the DT made on the Country View Challenge blog and link up your project to the challenge for the chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop.

Thanks for coming by,

7th Anniversary Day 2 Forever Roses

Welcome back for our 2nd day of STAMPlorations Birthday Celebration 

Unusually, today I have a card with with patterned papers! I used the Basic A2 Panels Nesting Dies to cut quickly and easily a few pieces and layering them simply on my base card.

The focal image is from the Bloomfully: Forever stamp set, recently released.  I stamped it with Distress inks in pale pink and Antique Linen for the leaves to get a no-line colouring look.
 

I then used watercolours and a brush for the roses and added a stamped sentiment from the same set.

***

The STAMP girls are showing inspiration for all the challenges on the STAMPlorations blog so pop by and don't forget to comment along the way for a chance to win (before the 8th of November)!

You can see all of the new sets released here.     

***

Whenever you shop for STAMPlorations products you can get 20% off with my code: STAMPGIRLCRAFTY 

AND during the Anniversary all orders placed with my code will include this not-yet-released stencil, Just Plaid square stencil (10 mil):

***

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the challenges.

  

Roses are pink

Mid month already and time for  second dose of inspiration for our March Stamplorations Theme and Photo Prompt challenge. 

You can choose to follow either the theme or the sketch, and, of course both, for the chance to win a prize! If you'd like to be considered for the prizes, please make sure you're linking back to the challenge post and displaying the challenge graphic.

For my second make, I followed the theme and used the pink colour from the photo prompt.

I used the stamps from the Wooded stamp set. It has wonderful buds, leaves and stems to build up a plant of your own, as well as some "tree making bits" that I haven't used here.

I stamped all the motifs without masking but did some careful inking to get to the design you see. My stamping platform also came in handy, either to deepen colour or add ink where it was missing.

I coloured the roses with alcohol pen.

I die-cut the focal image and the card base with the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and sandwiched a pink mat in between.

The STAMP girls are showing inspiration for all the challenges on the STAMPlorations blog so pop by and don't forget to enter our Theme and Photo Prompt challenge.

***

Whenever you shop for STAMPlorations products you can get 20% off with my code: STAMPGIRLCRAFTY

***

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday, Craft stamper TIMI, Penny Black and more, Stamping Sensations, Addicted to Stamps challenges.
   

Cultivating my own garden

A new Country View Challenge is starting and the theme, chosen by the lovely Corrie, is Blues and Greens, a perfect combination for a seascape in summer. But not what I decided to make in the end, as I stayed closer to home and tried to reproduced the luxuriance of my Hydrangeas blooms.

OK my flowers are actually pink and the stamp I used is in fact a Dahlia set by Papertrey Ink (old and retired I believe) but hey ho it's an artist's impression...  Each image is stamped in 3 steps to give a 3D look, and the effect IS gorgeous, but aligning the stamps does take a lot of time and effort!

I stamped the small and large dahlias from the set with 3 shades of blue Memento inks and die-cut them with the matching dies. I did the same with the leaves, large and small.

Once I had settled for a composition on my base card (a lot of paper pushing involved in that step) I took a photo to help me stick the die-cuts in the right order and with the right thickness of foam pads to give the look I had in mind.

The sentiment is pre-printed on the card base.

Now it's your turn to create something with Blues and Greens, to be in with a chance to win a £20 voucher to the Country View Craft shop. Go on what are you waiting for...

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

Spring blooms

Welcome to my second inspiration post for Crafts U Love. This month I am playing working with  teamie Julie Hickey's Flower Garden stamp. If you missed it, my first sample is here.

Flower garden

February is the month when the new craft products start arriving in the shops and personally, after a lack of mojo throughout the dreary January we've had in the UK, new goodies do always help reconnect with my creative side!

New to my stash this month is the gorgeous Flower Garden stamp by teamie Julie Hickey. Of course I wanted bright colours to go with it to chivvy spring along...

Foiled

Foil is everywhere at the moment, having a revival it seems, in the craft world. Time to pull my foils out along with other older supplies and create something new.

CUTplorations new release

Stamplorations posts have been rare on my blog this year, partly due to me being kept occupied by real life events and also because Stamplorations challenges and events have been scaled down to allow Shery, Stamplorations' boss, to have some sort of maternity break.

Normal service will resume in May but, in the meantime, I am here today to show you the  latest release of CUTplorations phrase dies and what I did with them.

     

Roses Framework

Happy April's fool day and welcome to our Country View Challenge for this new month, hosted by Evelyn, who chose "Pimp It Up" as the theme. Whether you re-cycle something around the house or alter a shop bought item, make something fantastic out of something ordinary...

My first inspiration for you is a photo frame, shabby chic style with lots of Roses too!

You've been framed

Today I'm showing a technique I discovered some time ago on the Tando blog, one that got me really excited! Come by the Craft Barn blog to read up on the details!