'What you do speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you say.'
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday 30 May 2010

I was really enjoying playing with Brown and Cream – I consciously tried to avoid it for a long time, after using these colours WAY too much for years :)  So, I carried on, did another Image transfer and made this:-

vintage card b

The background is walnut ink.  I’ve added some Mica flakes to the d/s tape behind the lace and some micro beads to the centre of the embossed flowers.   Hard to see the Mica flakes in the photos but they really glisten nicely, without too much glitter ;)

vc close up

This went to a lovely friend of mine whose birthday is today, so hopefully, she’ll have received it in the last few days :D  Happy Birthday, Lynne M!

Saturday 22 May 2010

I really enjoyed making this, despite wanting to be in the sun – yep, the Sun has got his hat on, hip, hip, hip, hip, hooray! 
The background is alcohol inks on glossy card, with some gold mixative.  The dragonfly (LOVE this Non Sequitur image) was first stamped on the background, masked then I stamped the Hero Arts Art words in Wild Plum ink, followed by the swirls, which are gold embossed.  I coloured the dragonfly a little with Copics and some white pen, then stamped again on Vellum, coloured with Copics (on the back), cut out and attached over the original image.  I used Glitter Glaze on some of the wings and body, which you can’t see here.  'Imagine the Possibilities' from Elusive Images.
ltd22 May 2010

Friday 21 May 2010

I’m really not good with prescriptive stuff – if someone tells me I have to use such and such a ‘sketch’ or certain colours, I find it really difficult because it restricts me.  BUT I do love these PDCC colours this week – AND Versamagic do the perfect colour matches.  They seem to be the only company to do Pastel ink colours really well.

PDCC30

And here’s the card – lovely, restful, colours.

21 May 2010 pdcc

Thursday 20 May 2010

Another colour I rarely use – orange – funny how some colours ‘hurt your eyes’ and this is another of them for me.  BUT I do love it with shocking pink!  I also love this stamp from Paperbag Studios.
orange hands

Wednesday 19 May 2010

I’m just sending a card to a friend and wanted to use these stamps on something quick that I could send – the bird, butterfly and ‘Hello’ were gifts from her.  Aren’t they great stamps?  So, I just did two quick ATCs.

This one’s stamped on some old Scratch paper – you can see where I’ve stamped ‘off the edge’ on my backgrounds.

19 May 2010 2

This is some of the ‘Ecoline mess’ watercolour paper, using one of my favourite words stamps.  I love this quotation.

19 May 2010 1

Tuesday 18 May 2010

I really NEEDED to stamp today - lots of things on my mind – but I couldn’t concentrate and wasn’t feeling very imaginative.  So, I stamped up some bits and did quick and easy with backgrounds I’ve already made.

The first one’s Alcohol inks, mounted on a wax resist background, made with waxed paper and a Cuttlebug folder.  All main images (and words) are Penny Black.

q and e 1

This one’s on a Versamagic background – text and flowers, but you’d probably have to enlarge to see the text.

q and e 2

The third one is just inks on glossy card, mounted onto a salted background.

q and e 3

Monday 17 May 2010

I was wanting to make something for the Lots to Do Challenge – Collage Stamping – but I also wanted to try out this stamp I got for a silly price (about £2.50) from Port Sunny, so I thought I’d do a postcard. 
I though I hadn’t done any real collage stamping for a long time – not since collage stamps became popular, followed by the distressed look, which followed the vintage fad but meant that messy stamping without masking was more acceptable.  Then I realised that I still mask a lot, even if not in the same way I used to.  I like creating my own backgrounds and that often means having to mask my main images - or some aspect of what I’m doing - first, so it’s something I don’t think about too much – I just get on with it.
Anyway, having said all that, it hasn’t turned out brilliantly, lol and it’s pretty simple – just masked birds with a Postcard background and a couple of design elements.  I used Wild Honey and Barn Door Distress inks then Prismacolour pencils for a change.  Back to work :)

love birds

Friday 14 May 2010

Interested in some fab TH Blog Candy?  Follow this link for the chance to win.

Thursday 13 May 2010

Just been playing with this week’s PDC (Play Date Café Colour Challenge) colours and boy, did I find it difficult, until I thought of this idea.
PDCC29
I attached the Flutterby Girl after doing the background in the two greens, then coloured her wings palest blue.  They look a little deeper than they were because I embossed everything with clear EP after I’d finished, which sort of deepens the shade a touch.  I used Colorbox Pigment inks for this one and Tombow Pens for the Flutterby girl.

Flutterby Girl
Lime Green is a colour I find really difficult to use, although I do use Adirondack Citrus quite often.  Looking at it now, I wish I'd put grass behind her and I am so tempted to add some lilacs to her wings, lol.

Just logged on to discover that I've won the Play Date Café’s Winner’s Cup for last week!!  AND I won a prize of designer papers.   Thank you all :)

I’m chuffed to bits, lol :)
PDC Winner button 

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Had to do something quick and easy to relax after the stress of doing the previous two cards, lol, so here’s my TMTATC Travel entry.

TMTATC Travel

Well, I’m sure it won’t look like it but it’s taken me all afternoon to make these VERY clean and simple cards – well out of my comfort zone – I don’t do clean and simple, or very rarely.  I’m sure most people would do these in half an hour – at the most – but I really struggled.

I use the Penny Black flowers a lot and, occasionally, in this way, with felt tip pens – but the Stampendous flowers were done with paper piecing and silver embossing AND it’s layered on silver mirror card,  which I’ve probably had for about 8 years.  I find it much, much easier to work with colour.  I didn’t think I was a ‘more is more’ type of person, but perhaps I am?

cas 1

The pink paper (Scrapbook paper for the blooms themselves) really IS pink – not this deeper colour you can see here.  Got a new scanner, so I obviously need to fine tune it – way too many options on it…

cas 2

Tuesday 11 May 2010

I enjoy the Lots to Do Challenges, so thought I’d have a play.

I’ve stamped this on a piece of alcohol inked glossy paper.  I keep forgetting about these images because they were the last we had pressed before the shop closed but I really like them :)

LTD Friendship

Monday 10 May 2010

Maths Monday and what am I doing?  Anything but Maths…

This week’s Play Date Café challenge is to use the colours in this photo and I quite like the soft effect.  I’ve been wanting to play with this colour challenge for months but just haven’t managed it.
PLAY DATE CAFE MAY 10
Not sure my pink’s so peachy but here’s my effort.  It’s a very quick and simple card and the colours make it look really pretty – I have a soft spot for pink.
playdate cafe
I’ve used my new Spun Sugar reinker (Distress ink), a new Penny Black unmounted flower (I used two and bought the other one at the NEC at the end of March) and the words are from a set of CLEAR (don’t faint) stamps I bought on Saturday.  I first stamped the flowers (both lots - second impression) and the words in Adirondack Slate Grey, to get the shadow effect, though you can't see it very clearly here.

Sunday 9 May 2010

Here are some of the ATCs I took with me to trade

  atcs2

atcs3

Here are the ATCs I traded for :)  Thank you, girls!

atcs rec ps

Friday 7 May 2010

What an exciting day it's been with all the news of the election.  Bit of a mess and I really think the current results should be considered null and void after the mess up at the Polls, but hey ho, it's not going to happen, is it?  Been busy while watching what was happening and here are my ATCs for Dot's ATC swap.

bcg1a
This one’s on gold pearlescent card, stamped in Brown (embossed) and the writing’s in Brilliance Pearlescent Beige (embossed) but the cream is in the raised images.
bcg2
I’m not sure they’re finished – perhaps they need something more adding to them? Will think about this…
Here are some more – got a bit carried away  because I was enjoying the colours :)  I have quite a few to trade at Port Sunny, though.
Although you can’t see it clearly, there is gold embossing on every one and all colours used were shades of brown – Adirondack Ginger, Mushroom, Latte, Espresso, Hazelnut and Distress Walnut Stain.  I’d forgotten how much I love the smell of metallic embossing powders – that’s what drew me to stamping in the first place, lol.
bcg3  bcg5
bcg6  bcg7
bcg8  bcg4
bcg9
bcg10
bcg11 
How do I decide which ones to enter into the swap????
Been busy writing the backs of these, ready to hand over to Dot tomorrow, at Port Sunlight.  Must be the first time I've ever been so early with a swap, he, he!
PS OH NO!!!  Just found out from HSNW website that Stamp Camp won't be there - drat!  That's one of the main reasons I was going because I love her stamps!!  I may actually struggle to spend what little money I do have, having seen the list of exhibitors.  Drat, drat and double drat!!

Thursday 6 May 2010

I was playing with brown, cream and gold – this month’s ATC theme on KCUK – and messed up (firstly cos the text stamp I thought was clean had green ink on it and the gold didn’t colour it, then cos the ink on my image transfer wasn’t quite sepia, having more of a reddish hue), so played some more and they became vintage ATCs.

I need some to take to Port Sunny with me on Saturday, so I’m quite pleased that it worked out this way, to be honest :)

vintage 2a  vintage 1a

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Two cards here cos I changed my mind half way through…
This one’s been glimmer misted but of course you can’t see that – and I think the colours go together better in real life :)  It looks more true to life in PSP but not on this page – strange.  The background card perfectly matches the Pool ink on the face background and is a kind of Jade colour - the turquoise is a slightly different shade from what you can see.
(NOTE to Jan - I've tried but can't find an email link or address anywhere on your blog, so these stamps are from Crafty Individuals.   The ones below are (L to R) Paperartsy (Ink and the Dog), Paperbag Studios and again, Crafty Individuals.)

faces 1
The background to this is an alcohol ink background and it’s really rich looking, with a lot of depth – shame you can’t see that.  I was wanting to use faces from people stamps I have, rather than use my face stamps –  just a little bit of a play.
faces 2

I used three of the new Distress inks on this tag and this lovely Urban Snapshots image (Paperartsy), coloured with watercolour pencils.  Just checked it and the top boy’s hair has dried blobbily (is that a new word, lol?) so I’ll need to redo it.  Done it, but it’s a bit heavy.  I’m not very good with hair :(
Not sure they look as if they’re having fun, either :)   Someone just commented that they actually look as if they're about to be told off - made me giggle but absolutely right!!  Thanks, Carol :)

fun boys 2