Snowy scene with robin

Just a quick post to enter this little guy in the Allsorts challenge.

The church stamp is from the Crafty Individuals CI-474 set, the sheep from CI-467 and the robin is 

CI-456.

The hill the robins stands on is a Stampscape stamp, 205F Boulders with Lichen.

The sky, church and ground have been watercoloured , the bird was stamped in coloured inks so I only needed to add a little colour .

As a final touch I added falling snowflakes with thick gesso and sprinkled white flock in places for that fluffy effect of real snowflakes.

Thanks for coming by,

I am also entering the We Love Chocolate Baroque challenge.

Warning giant arachnid on the loose

Today I am showing another Halloween scene for our October Country View Challenge hosted by the lovely Monika.

If the giant spider hasn't put you off... Here is how I made my scene. 

The arch with tree branches has been cut from Black Magic Core'dination (yes I do still have a large stock of it...) with the Sizzix Thinlits Christmas Shadow Box die set. Although a lot of the dies are Christmassy and cute I thought the wooded aperture could be made to look sinister... I also converted a dove into a black bird, not as menacing as a crow but good enough to create an impression!

The background has been created with inks, both Distress and Distress Oxides. I added the moon with a stencil and paint.

The top layer has been embossed with a drip motif, which I sanded back and I drew a web with a pencil before adding my ghosts, pumpkin and black spider "confetti".

I am quite pleased I managed a scene with my limited Halloween stash! Now it's 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 SSS Monday challenge.

Cups of Pumpkin

After the strangest summer of my life, and probably yours too, the STAMPlorations challenges are starting again. Today I am showing you an inspiration make for the Theme & Photo Prompt challenge.

You can either follow the theme, the photo and of course both! I chose to  make a CAS card with lots of white leaving the Autumn colours to shine.

I used the Coffee To Go: Fall and Winter and stamped my two cups before fussy cutting them. I then shaped them with a slight curve and stuck in place with foam pads. 

I added the sentiment from the Better Than Autumn set inked with a Kaleidacolor inkpad. 

The STAMP girls are showing inspiration 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, Allsorts, Casology challenges.

   

The Gates of Halloween

Be afraid, be very afraid... mwahaha

Yes it's Halloween this month and the theme chosen by Monika for our Country View Challenge...
You must create a Halloween scene.

I stamped the Beware Gate (Stampendous) in Memento Black and the Moon in Memento London Fog (Lavinia) first, then applied Distress inks with Distress Foam in Carved Pumpkin, Chipped Sapphire, Wilted Violet and Forest Moss.

The Halloween word has been created by die-cutting individual letters with the Tim Holtz/Sizzix  Alphanumeric Script set (662228), which was given to me by a generous crafty friend.

It came in really useful as I don't "do" much Halloween and so have limited supplies on this particular theme!

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 SSS Wednesday, Unikostudio challenges.

Butterfly Lady

Do you have stash that you had to have but hardly use? This Mixed Media Thinlet set by Tim Holtz is one of them, I just don't know how to use these corners in a way that feels natural and actually "adds" something to the card/tag/page.

Recently I saw some makes that gave me the idea I used to create today's card with one of the corner dies as iron gates (distressed gates...) and a lovely Lost Coast Design stamp (Winged Girl NS).

The background is a Gelli print. I coloured the lady with pencils and embossed the die-cuts with Aged Aqua Frantage, adding some Aged Copper here and there .

I hope you like it!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the Allsorts, SSS Monday, Lost Coast Designs, We Love Chocolate Baroque challenges.

Bird's nest

Today for my second inspiration post for our Country View Challenge, I have created a Mixed Media tag with lots of bits from my leftovers "bin". I based the colour scheme on the complementary colours red and green but chose the less aggressive shades of each, adding white to the primary colours.

My tag base is a Mixed Media paper on which I first used Distress inks in green and pink.

I then stamped with Memento inks in green and pink several stamps from Paper Artsy ESN07 and ESN10 - my go to texture stamp sets- both by Sara Naumann. I added some black ink stamping with an ancient Kaisercraft texture stamp and a few motifs from a Finnabair/Prima stamp set (Trust the magic).

I added some (transparent) crackle texture paste here and there and highlighted the cracks with dark Distress inks.

The bird is die-cut out off felt with a CUTploration die (For the Birds), the Authentic is die-cut from metal with a word from the Thinlits - Adventure Words: Script by Sizzix/Tim Holtz. Other bits joining the cluster are partial die-cuts and a piece of home made washi tape and of course the "nest" made of twine with added shiny stones, magpie style, which are Stamperia Glamour - Sparkles in Sparkling White. I bought them for snow but being a bit chunky they were perfect as treasure...

Another look:

What colour pair are you going to choose for your own Contrasting colour entry to this month's  Country View Challenge ? Remember that if you link up, you are in with a chance to win a £20 voucher for the Country View Craft shop!

Thanks for coming by,
I am entering the SSS Wednesday, We Love To Create  challenges.

Complementary coasters

And the holiday season finishes with a whimper... not much to rejoice, so I am thankful for the enjoyment I get from crafting. Not quite sure what is going to happen this September school wise but at least our Country View Challenge is kicking off as expected.

This month Evelyn has chosen Complementary colours as the theme. I'm guessing lots of you will already know what complementary colour pairs are, but if not, any decent search engine should give you the necessary explanations.

Today I chose my favourite "male" colour scheme with blue-orange as the complementary pair.

I used alcohol inks with a plastic palette, alcohol lift ink and polymer plate to lift the print onto my MDF coasters, which I had first prepared with Gesso.




I cleaned up on separate pieces of cardstock, waste not want not... and on a whim added gold foil on what appeared to be still sticky.

Then, I simply stamped quotes from Paper Artsy set HP1901 and HP1206. I have a few more coasters to do so I will leave the finishing for some other time, but these will need protecting with several layers of varnish, preferably one that can take high temperatures for hot drinks.

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 SSS Wednesday and Paperbabe  challenges.

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.