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

Sunday 31 March 2019

Happy Mother's Day to all ladies in the UK!

I saw one of my sons  yesterday and the other one won't even be aware that it is Mother's Day. My mum is in New Zealand, and although I did send her a card, I haven't sent flowers to her this time - it's not quite the same thing when you can't get daffodils in season, lol. I always bought her around 10 bunches, so she could have vases of them all around. I love daffs, but I also love tulips and have some beauties growing in my pots at the moment...just look at the variation of colours in these! Aren't they amazing? Even more amazing in the sunlight, when I'm not blocking it to take the photo...


Sorry I haven't blogged much lately. It was my birthday last weekend and this year, it turned out to be  an extended celebration, seeing lots of lovely friends, and with lots of long phone calls - I was spoiled.  I haven't really had time for stamping,  and even when I have, I haven't had much inspiration. I have made a few things, though, so I thought I'd share some of them today.

There's a 'Use Yellow' challenge over at Allsorts and while many of you know I'm not over keen on lots of yellow, I do love yellow flowers and splashes of it...so here's one I made earlier...I used an old Indigo Blu stamp on watercolour paper and spread a little of the green around. I don't use this image often because it's so big, but I do quite like it.


I found some Visible Image stamps in a sale a little while ago, so I made a simple journal page with a couple of them, also using a Visible Image stencil (I think) that I bought at Port Sunlight.  I gessoed the page before adding Distress Oxides, spraying with a bit of water for the oxidation effect. I just didn't think it needed anything more, other than a few white gel pen highlights.


This was a simple birthday card I made for a close friend, using her colours (and mine). I used Distress Oxides on the background and when I clear embossed the Lavinia flowers, the whole thing embossed, so I had to add a separate greeting. There's a 'Card for a Special Lady' challenge over at Daring Cardmakers, so I'd like to link to that and Watercooler Wednesday's challenge is 'All About Occasions'..


There's also an ATG or CAS challenge over at Penny Black Saturdays, so I'm linking this black and white card I made using an old and treasured PB stamp. I love half tone stamps that give depth like this.


Thank you so much for calling in - I wish you all a very happy Mother's Day, especially if you're in the UK and even if you're not.  Personally, I think it should be 'Ladies' Day' so that no one is left out, so just celebrate anyway! My church gives all the ladies a daffodil and no one is left out, which I think is very special.

I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Friday 22 March 2019

It's so lovely to have the feel of Spring in the air, even if it is rather dark today...it's been lovely the last few days, with sunshine as well as a distinct lack of wind! Hope it's the same for you, wherever you may be - or at least showing signs of improvement.

Today I'm sharing more greens... I really do seem to have used green a lot more than usual in the last few weeks. I don't know if it's psychological or if it was just a change because I hadn't used it for a while, but whatever the reason, I've enjoyed it.

Ellibelle's Craft Wednesdays are looking for Spring or Green and Crafty Cardmakers have a 'Make it Green' challenge at the moment, so here's my first card to share, made with a Lavinia Stamps image and lots of green. The background is made with various Distress Oxides and I've simply stamped and embossed the flowers and the words, highlighting with a white pen afterwards. I didn't think it needed anything more.


The next two cards were just tryouts… the first was coloured with Promarkers, the second was watercoloured with Oxides.



This one is a stencil I fell in love with.... I sponged it with different shades of green Oxides, then clear embossed, making it hard to stamp over! Some embossed, some didn't but I quite like that effect.


Then a not (quite) green card 😊 stamped over an Oxide background I already had in my stash, but then doodled a bit, after piecing the flowers. Those flower centres were coloured with exactly the same pens, but alternating placement - I can't understand how the yellow looks green on one of them, but not on the other... but I don't mind.


Addicted to Stamps have a Spring challenge, so I'm pleased to be able to link to that and 

Day of the Month Card Club have an 'I want you to be happy' Day challenge.

Thank you so much for calling in...

Hopefully, I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Tuesday 19 March 2019

There's a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesdays

Say it with Flowers!

We want to see flowers, flowers, flowers on your artwork!

As usual, you're welcome to interpret this any way you like, using any medium you prefer...

You have TWO WEEKS to join us in this challenge

Please go to check out the wonderful inspiration provided by the team  - some fabulous makes!

We love visiting your blogs and commenting on your art 😊

I made this card...


I made the background by sponging on Picked Raspberry and Toasted Marmalade  Distress Oxides, spritzing with water, then overstamping the words (Sandi Miller Stamps) in Picked Raspberry. The flower is a favourite Art Journey stamp - I just love this simple flower. I drew the stems with a Posca pen - and the words are from Stampendous. White highlights were added to the flowers with a Signo Stylus pen, then a little more Posca colour on the flower centres. 

I'm happy to join the challenges at:-

Country View Challenges - Letters and/or Numbers

Mix it up Challenges - Inked background

Allsorts - Favourite stamp/image
(the background Art stamp is one of my all time favourite text background stamps)

I look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing your wonderful art.

Thank you for calling in...

Hopefully, I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Sunday 17 March 2019

The current challenge at CAS Mixup is Faux Stained Glass. I'd never heard of this technique before, so I had to give it a go... I love the challenge of CAS because it's not my usual 'go to' type of art.  My default mode is to throw (not usually literally - though I'd love to be one of those artists who CAN do that) inks or paints at paper or card and work with the results 😉 So it's a totally different approach for me.

I must confess that I did NOT find this easy... I chose a die cut which is probably a little too large, with lots of fiddly bits, which then needed a lot of adhesive (I learned just how easily card stretches and breaks when wet) and a lot of filling with Glossy Accents - eek! I think I'll search harder for  my d/s adhesive and try the Clear embossed version next time 😊 and maybe throw a little UTEE in there. I'm really pleased I tried it, though. Thanks so much, ladies. I appreciate the prompting and the very helpful links.

I attached the die cut to white card first, then coloured with blended Copics before adding the next 3 layers. I then applied LOTS of Glossy Accents - which seemed to shrink when dry - and finally, when that dried, another layer of die cut. I used a Copper Pearly pen for the centre. I'd messed up the white base with glue, so I had to cut around the die cut - not easy with so many layers - and attach to another piece of card, using lots of very strong d/s tape, then onto a yellow card, cut to leave a very fine border on three sides. 
If I try this again, I'll definitely be using a smaller image! I hope its size doesn't disqualify me from the CAS bit of the challenge. The word stamp is from a Simon Says Stamp set of words I use a lot.

The first image is a photo taken on a very dull day, but the colours are truer. The second is a scan, which makes it look lighter than it actually is. The card is very 'in your face' yellow, lol.



Thanks for the challenge and challenge it certainly was!

Thank you for calling in...

Hopefully, I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Saturday 16 March 2019

I made a quick card for the CAS Stencil Challenge, which this month is 'Ghosting' or 'colour lifting' as I know it. I remember the first time I saw this when Dyan Reavely demonstrated it on a video, long before she became a Ranger signature artist, and how much I really loved  it. It's something I do so often, I don't even think of it as a technique. It's very useful for lightening dark inky backgrounds 😉 and for adding dimension to a stamped background. There are some great video links on the Challenge Blog - thank you for that, ladies.  

I have to admit that I've never even considered using it on a CAS card because I see it as a background thing, so this really was a challenge for me...until I suddenly had an idea. 

The base is watercolour paper, smooshed with Distress Inks and it was quite dark. So I used a flourish stencil on it to lift the colour, then die cut it with a Stampendous butterfly die. I love the lovely, large butterfly stamps that go with these dies and was chuffed when I spotted the dies. I just edged the die cut with a Copic marker - slipping a little as you can see, lol - and attached it just down the centre, to make it a little more dimensional. I did scan it but obviously, that didn't show the raised wings, so I've opted for a photo this time.




The new Allsorts Challenge is to use your favourite stamp, image or die, and I just happen to have made a little card from a scrap, using my all time favourite  'go to' butterfly stamp. I think it's an Innovative Stamp Creations image, but it may well be an Artistic Outpost stamp... sorry, I no longer keep it with the stamps that came with it. I have way too many favourite stamps to choose one single one, apart from my favourite PB fuchsia stamp, which I tend to overuse, so I decided not to this time.

The background is acrylics applied with baby wipes, some through some sequin waste, stamped with various images from my background and word boxes.


I must be longing for some soothing paler colours because I made another card in similar colours, this time using Oxides. I left the background as it was because I didn't want to detract from the beautiful stamps and words. The dresses actually look as if they're coloured, but they're not. It's amazing how some things trick the eye. 


There are also a few Green challenges around - I don't know if we're all longing for Spring or if it's for St Patrick's Day... maybe a little of both, so here's a green card, made with Paperartsy Flowers.
 The words in the background are a Teesha Moore (Zettiology) stamp I picked up in a grab bag when in LA for CHA (now Creativation)  a long time  ago....Teesha was so lovely and  sweet enough to  sketch a quick image, sign it  and give it to me as a memento.


This one is a Stampington image I unmounted in the last couple of  weeks.



I'm pleased to be able to link this to the following:-

Sweet Stamping Challenge - Green/St Patrick's Day

Artistic Stampers - Colour it Green

Addicted to Stamps and More - Make Your Mark
(I've coloured the hair, the flesh and the letters)



Thank you so much for calling in...

I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Tuesday 12 March 2019

I'm having to really rush this because there's only 25 mins before the challenge closes, but I so wanted to take part in Seize the Birthday's 'Make us Laugh' challenge - I love humorous cards!

So, my CAS background with a bit of stencilling plan was rushed and I had to resort to one of my pre prepared backgrounds - made with Oxides. I love this sentiment, though the person you use it for would have to be a really good friend, so you'd know they wouldn't be offended...😉


I'll be back in a moment to edit this and to add another card, but I need to get it linked before the challenge ends...  all done 😀

I wanted to join in the challenges at both Stamping Sensations and Penny Black and More, so I cheated and combined them on one card.

I made an Oxide rainbow background, stamped the flowers, then took off some colour by spraying water through a circles stencil,  à la Dyan Reavely. I'd already stamped the flowers and leaves on text and dictionary pages, so I just cut them out and attached them, adding a touch of toning colour (Posca) to the inside circles of the flowers, matching the rainbow background behind. Just to make sure I had enough circles for the PB & More challenge, I added a touch of circle stamping in Moonlight White Brilliance ink, though it's not instantly visible.



Here's another card I made earlier... just a try out, using primary colours and some Paperartsy flowers, which don't really work well on cards, but they were what I picked up.


This is a card I made for my Swiss friend in France, Cathy, whose favourite flowers are Sweet Peas. They're also her daughter-in-law's favourites and for their wedding, Cathy and I went to pick a couple of baskets full of them from a nursery, then made table decorations with them for the wedding - it was a nightmare sticking them in oasis because the stems are so flimsy and fragile, but it was fun!

 I really regret colouring one red - it didn't work - but it always surprises me when I see one or two deep red/plum flowers amongst all the other pretty paler colours, so I wanted to make them more realistic. I won't bother next time, lol. Lesson learned.

I bought these stamps especially to use for Cathy, so I'm linking to the Make My Monday Challenge, which is 'Something New' and the Flower Challenge's ATG.


That's it for now.. thank you so much for calling in.

Hopefully, I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Saturday 9 March 2019

There's a 'Close to Nature' challenge on Moo Mania and More challenges, so I made a very simple card, using Oxides and a few stamps. The tree trunks are Stampscapes. Maybe I should've added a rabbit... the words are from Simon Says Stamp, one of the items I chose when I won one of the challenges.


I seem to be using a lot of green at the moment, for some reason - maybe it's that hint of Spring that WAS in the air - it's now cold and very windy. 

This card was just a play around with one of my favourite stamps from Innovative Stamp Creations - I have a feeling they were bought by another company, but I can't remember who - stamped in grey for distance and a bit of depth, then black, clear embossed, over a Birth Certificate text.


I've also been playing with this new Woodware stamp - not a lot you can do with a bunch of flowers, but I do have an idea in my head for one. I just stamped the first two on inky backgrounds, colouring with Prismacolor and/or Posca pens.


I do like the words I used, though 😁



Then a clearner and simpler one.


Id like to enter the following challenges :-


Make My Monday - New (stamps)


SSS Wednesday - Create a Scene (just a little one)

Dare 2B Artzy - Anything Goes

Last, but not least, a bit of journaling... both in my 8x8 Kraft Journal. 
This one is using Dylusions paints and a bit of stencilling before stamping.


This one is simply ink stencilling over a gessoed page, with my lovely alphabet dies.


Thank you for visiting... and oh, I almost forgot to say I finally got my phone back on Thursday! Yay!

Hopefully, I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx

Tuesday 5 March 2019

There's a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday from today... 

Inspired by a Word...

Choose a word that inspires you and play!!!
As usual, you may interpret this any way you like, using any medium.

We can't wait to see what you make 😀
You have two weeks to make something, so no excuse not to join in...

If any of you saw my previous short lived post, I can only apologise - I blogged the wrong challenge - oops!!! 😟

I used one of my Brushos backgrounds to make this and chose the word 'Dream', using some random graphic stamps and a bit of text to fill in the background, along with some stencilling in Brilliance Moonlight white ink.


It would be lovely to see you over there at the challenge.
Please do visit HERE to see the wonderful inspiration the rest of the team have for you. 

I'm also happy to enter this into the following challenges:-


Mix it Up, Inked background

Hopefully I'll be back soon

Thank you so much for visiting.

Cath
xxx

Monday 4 March 2019

Just a quick post for the Moo Mania and More Challenge, which is 'Women'.

I played around in my journal with paints and inks  and made this:-


Yep, I went a bit mad with that stencil and the texture paste, lol - I decided that if it was already messy with the paste, I may as well get some mileage from it, so forgive me for using the same one. 

I love both the main stamps I used - the running woman and the Non Sequitur words - and often use them together, because, well, they just fit together so well. I used an alphabet stencil in the background and did some random stamping with an alphabet stamp and a number stamp, as well as stamping bits of the words with white Distress Stains, so I'm happy to be able to enter it into the Country View Challenge of Letters and/or Numbers.

That's all for now - I'm toddling off to a Samsung shop to try to get my mobile fixed...I dropped it a couple of weeks ago and the screen stopped working, so I'm hoping they can fix it while I'm there. Don't you feel as if your right arm has been cut off when you don't have your mobile? I certainly do! The funny thing is my alarm is still repeating over and over and over - and I can't stop it or turn off the phone because there's no screen. They're going to love me on the train - NOT.

Thank you for calling in today.

Hope to see you soon

Cath 
xxx

Sunday 3 March 2019

I thought I'd create a page in my 8x8 journal for the Art Journal Journey challenge,  which this month is hosted by the lovely Jo.

The background is pale green and pale pink, over which I stencilled some Oxides, then did a bit of random text stamping. I was inspired by the layered daisies on  Tracey's  post here, so I added 2 or three layers to the flower heads and used Nuvo Crystal drops on the daisy centres, after colouring with copics, then left them to set overnight. I love the way they turned out.


My glue stick was running out, so I grabbed a bright green one, thinking it would go clear when it dried - WRONG! so the beautiful, fluorescent green behind the centre flower is Pritt Stick 😉


This was a 'just for fun' page I made last week, when playing with texture paste and Neocolor crayons. I love the colours - very Spring like.



I recently got a set of lovely, large alphabet dies, so you may be seeing a lot of them 😁 They're so much fun to use!

Thank you for coming to visit...

I'll be back soon

Cath
xxx