INKY FINGERS

 Today's offerings are very mixed... this one I made a couple of weeks ago. I love this little 'booth' - even if it's a direct copy of a Snoopy one I even have on a stamp! I know I could easily have drawn it, but I wanted to stamp because of the aged bits and so that I could cut it out. I do like my images embossed 😊 It's a simple Oxide background, with a bit of Colour lift stencilling and some stamping. I also changed the last word...the original says 'The heart that gives garthers', but I prefer to say is blessed... Hope you like my little cat, who's going nuts because of the chick, chick, chick, chick chickens.

 
This is a playabout journal page from when I finished the circular book. I loved the colours - my favourites - so didn't want to hide them too much, although I did remove some with a bit of lift off stencilling. The drips were already there, so I just added some splatters from the paint palette. I love these scribble stamps. They're so much fun.

 ...and round and round 😊

I'm dizzy now, just thinking about it, lol. 

I'm working between two laptops because my scans are on the other one, but the keyboard is misbehaving again. So, I've been working on these pages little by little, while listening to online teachings in my craft room. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but this is what came into my head. It's not very well planned - but that's normal for me these days. I can now send it to a special friend. The pages aren't in order because I rearranged them, once I attached them to my triple book rings - and I added a back 'signature' page, but I've taken a photo of that, so will add it before I publish the post. This size circle - 4" - is a nice size to work with. I've made a hole in my stash of coloured images, but not a huge one, because I coloured some from scratch for this and I still have quite a few uncoloured ones left. Some of them are still on my stamping platform, too, so I might just have to stamp them again before I put them all away 😉

 Just a quickie to post my Autumn Glory Mingle for KCUK. It's arrived now, so I can share it 😊

I used to hunt down shrooms to photograph them and had quite a collection. I think they're amazing! Mine are very limited in shape and size, but it was fun to use them. A smooshed and sponged Distress Oxide background on an 8" tall card, with lots of text in the background. The two groups were stamped onto the card, the large one is Jo's Stampotique shroom, which I love. These colours are so comforting to play with.

 Nearly two weeks since I last posted...anyone would think I wasn't stamping, but I am 😁 albeit a little more slowly than usual!

I'm here to post a mini-book I made for a friend a little while ago. I really went off making cards for a while and spent my time making pages to make into books - and will soon be doing more! In what seems like the distant past, I made a lot of small booklet/mini-book type projects for workshops. I suppose they're my first love, if I'm honest. This was the second I made in early August. I had a recipient in mind from the beginning, which isn't always how I create... but I wanted it to be specially for her.

I didn't post earlier because this was when I first used that gorgeous colour combination I used again for my next little book. It evolved as it progressed. I had intended making a tallish concertina book, but because I'm using thicker card, the folds cracked, so it became a sewn signature book. Then I kept changing the cover shape and size, so had to add more pages to cover the folded cover...but I was really happy with the way it turned out and I know it brought a smile to her face, which is what matters most, isn't it?

So, using Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feather and Wilted Violet ink, I sponged the front and back of my long piece of card, splashed with water, then added background stamping, using Studio Light and other images. I stencilled a lot on this one, mainly using Moonlight White Brilliance Ink.

Book cover

 

Book opened, showing inner back cover and pages - 4, so 8 sides

 

 

Middle Inside Cover

 

Back Covers

 

It was a lovely size to work with, so I may do more like this - I also have slightly different versions and sizes of the covers for another two hanging around in my craft room. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to do 😁

Next time, I may have a plan in mind when I begin! I'm sure it would help 😉

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 Once upon a time, coffee time where I am would have been any time, and even in the middle of the night! But things change and now I allow myself 3 cups of caffeine each morning, followed by decaff for the rest of the day...it used to be decaff ALL the time, until I had to get up just after 5am to get to where I was working, and desperately needed that caffeine kick. Thinking about it now, I'm sure going to bed a little earlier would've been more effective, but I was often working until midnight (the joys of teaching in Adult Ed and having to provide all your own resources) so it didn't even occur to me 😁

Last night I went into my craft room to look for some images and when I realised just how many I had ready to use, I was really annoyed with myself...enough is enough! AND there are others besides...

  

 

And this is the finished card. I used a stencil from Visible Image, with Crackling Campfire, Aged Mahogany, Rusty Hinge, Walnut Ink and Fossilised Amber Distress Oxides, Delicata gold and Versafine Onyx Black inks. The washi tape is from my stash.

As usual on an Autumn day, it's difficult to get a good image, so I'll show you a scan and a photo 😊

Scan - accurate figure colours

Photo - more accurate background colours

I have a ridiculous number of both images and backgrounds (in various stages) to go at and still have a minibook to share, but I'll try to get more done this week, or my image stash may just keep on growing...

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 Hi all.

I hope you're enjoying the Autumn sunshine where you are. It's so bright and sunny here, and it can be deceiving, fooling you into thinking it's warm until you get outside and feel that sharp wind...brrr! 

My crafting and browsing time have been seriously curtailed of late, due to spinal problems, but I finally managed to finish this little concertina that I've been working on for around 10 days - very unlike me. I only had the cover to finish early in the week, but it's taken me until now to get around it it 😉

I wasn't going to get embroiled in Autumn colours and images, but how can you resist? Especially when I've just set this month's Mingle, or challenge on KCUK and chosen Autumn Glory! This isn't what I'm using, because the additional challenge is to make tall cards or tags and this certainly isn't that...

I used Crackling Campfire, Toasted Marmalade, Fossilised Amber, Aged Mahogany and Walnut Ink Oxides, smooshed for the most part, but sponged on the cover, and Versafine inks for stamping the images. I did take lots of photos, but I've just checked them and the colours are very washed out, so I'm showing you the scans.

Here's the cover...using Aall and Create stamps, Prisma pencils and gel pens. It's just over 3.75" square.

 Hello again 😊

Just catching up with more stuff, so I thought I'd post some smiles today. Sadly, I forgot to photograph my brother's birthday card before I sent it, because it was lots of fun, but I have a couple more to share.

This feels very much out of season now, though it wasn't when I made it... I really need to get my act together again re blogging - and stamping, for that matter, at the moment. I really love Janet Klein's little peeps and things, and this is just another set I was playing with. The background is Oxides and Aall & Create, plus some stencilling. This was my first playtime with Crackling Campfire. The wings are glittery - Wink of Stella.

 Long time no blog... I've been well and truly AWOL for a while and haven't even been able to do much stamping until I had to made a quick card today, so I thought I'd start to clear up my folder in readiness for the new things in my head right now... Life does have a habit of getting in the way of having fun, even if it's fun in other ways - not all the time, though 😊

I've just done a little catching up, so if I haven't yet made it to your blog, I probably will soon, though I already know tomorrow is a busy day. Please forgive me for not visiting. I'll get there eventually. I'm trying really hard not to do any Autumn stamping, though I know I can always journal...it's one of my favourite colour and imagery seasons, so I can feel the pull already as I've been looking around at what you've been doing and looking around me when I'm out. Aren't the trees and leaves glorious? They really bring a smile to my face.

Onward we go...so here are my makes. First up Aall and Create's Dragonflies. This is the first dragonfly stamp I've bought for a long time. They were once my favourite thing to use but I haven't stamped one in years. I love these, though. I also love this background. I stamped this one in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder, then smooshed and spritzed Oxides until I was happy with the result - and I love it!