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

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Hi there. It's AGES since I blogged...sorry... 
I have things to show you soon...😊 but I thought I'd share yesterday's playtime and a couple of older projects.
A little while ago I bought some thick (400gsm) card because I needed something sturdier for die cutting. When playing with an offcut one day, I noticed that the inks moved beautifully on it, especially when spritzing, so I used a piece for this Oxide background. I loved it. So yesterday I stamped it and coloured with Prisma pencils. The centre flower started as a paler lilac colour, but it was almost absorbed by the background, so I decided to change its colour to paler yellows. Because I'd coloured over the inks with Prismas, it was hard to cover the original colours, so I tried acrylic paints, then added some Prisma shading. I love these flowers and they are huge, so I'm planning something bigger with them in the next few days. 
The words stamp (Stampinback, I think) is one of my all time favourites.
You can see how beautifully the water splatters show up on this card.
I used Poscas for the little touches of colour. You can also see the darker shading beneath the flowers.

This one was a 'kickback' after working on something specific. I picked up an old background for it and added a little stencilling before stamping the flower and colouring. It's richer than it looks because I used gold spray on the background and some chestnut shades, too. Maybe I'll take a photo...

I made this one a while ago but didn't blog it for some reason. I stamped a lovely friend's (Stampotique) image a while ago and just added colour and the little bird which was the remainder of something else I'd been playing with, and just happened to be on my desk...this image always brings to mind Le Petit Prince, a lovely old allegorical French book, which is a favourite of my very special friend's. There are now 'Petit Prince' stamps, which I'm very tempted to splurge on at some point. 
The colours in the background create an ethereal look, though it's not so easy to see it in the scan - the words are embossed in silver, so show up better in real life..  the stars are stencilled, with a few tiny punchies thrown in. I just love the way inks mingle to create gorgeous colours like this. I'm so often surprised by the results of just throwing colour at a piece of card 😉 and seeing how they turn out.
I painted the moon with some glitter medium I bought about 20 years ago! I always love the effect it gives. The doodled borders were made with a silver Pilot rollerball pen.
I went for a walk around my yard earlier and was in awe of these gorgeous azaleas, so I thought I'd share a photo with you. It had just been raining, so you'll probably see water droplets, too. What a shame they'll soon disappear!

I'm linking to the following challenges:-
Tuesday Throwdown, Add a Doodle
Artistic Stampers, In the garden
Penny Black & More, Anything Goes
Watercooler Wednesday, Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps & More, Make Your Mark

Well done if you made it so far...sorry it's a bit of a photo heavy post 😉

Stay safe everyone!
Thank you for calling in today
Back soon
Cath
xxx

18 very kind comments from lovely people:

brenda said...

Yes I made it to the end Cath, the size of print on your blog and comment box is great, some are just too small for me until I get my post op glasses which are still at the opticians thanks to lockdown.

Three so different and lovely cars, I really do love the blues and purples but then I got the the Poppies so of course that has to be my favourite.

I sometimes used 600gsm Fabriano, it is heavy not to mention expensive but you can throw literally buckets of water at it and no warp at all, especially good with Brusho's.

B x

Tracy said...

Gorgeous creation, thanks for joining Penny Black & More @ Allsorts challenge, good luck.
Happy crafting
Tracy x

Caty said...

Woww your cards are Amazing Cath !! I loove them all. The flowers have so gorgeous colours and are so happy. Great words !
Your last one is spectacular with this glitter effect, and the lovely doodled edges you created. So beautiful flowers too.
I wish you a very nice afternoon, stay safe dear friend,
and Big hugs
Caty

Mrs.B said...

Gorgeous cards Cath, love the first one, those flowers look fabulous against your background colours. It's a lovely poppy card, and image I haven't used for a while - I can imagine the moon looking sparkly against your night sky, love the little image.
Hugs, Avril xx

DVArtist said...

Wow Cath. This is stunning. Yes that background is breath taking. I really like all of your art. You have a real talent. Enjoy your day.

Kathleen said...

A great set of cards with super backgrounds and images. Thank you for joining our 'Anything Goes' challenge at Penny Black and More at Allsorts.

Kath x

My name is Erika. said...

These are gorgeous Cath. I really like those cool purples and greens. Flowers-swoon and those folks on the moon are so adorable. That is a great image. And the orange card is so pretty also. Glad to see you back on the blog. I always enjoy seeing your cards. Hope all is well. Hugs-Erika

Rosie said...

Wow, wonderful flower artwork to see at this post, dear Cath.

Thank you very much for your lovely comment on my blog. Stay healthy and take care of yourself

Meggymay said...

A beautiful selection of cards Cath. Good to see you blogging again.
Stay safe.
Yvonne xx

María said...

Thanks for sharing these cards with us they're awesome, the stamp of the last one is super original I love it and that background is magical.

And those flowers of the first one are gorgeous I cannot wait to see what are you going to make with them in that next bigger project hehhehe.

Hugs, María.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Gosh Cath, I am in awe of your cards. Another reason I don't make them. As for photo heavy, you obviously don't visit my blog very often (grin).

I love the bird on the ladder and that image is so cute, too. Of course, the flowers certainly made me think of spring. And I love the azaleas. I used to have an azalea bush, but it died. I don't think I had the correct temperate zone for it.

Anke said...

WOW WOW WOW Cath I love your cards, my favourite is the first one, absolutely stunning, the sentiment is so wonderful ...

Hugs
Anke

Tristan said...

Simply stunning collection of cards. I love the technique your used and the beautiful backgrounds on all the cards. Thanks for joining us at Watercooler Wednesday this week. Tristan DT.

Dawn T said...

Stunning cards Cath. The background on your flowers card is amazing. Thanks for sharing with us at Watercooler Wednesday challenge this week.

Lindsey said...

Such beautiful cards! Such great colouring. Thanks for joining us at Addicted to Stamps and More!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Both flower cards are wonderful - I really should use red and orange more, especially now I have seen this to give me inspiration! I adore the ladder to the moon card, of course the moon should sparkle like that, it's been hiding behind clouds here! Stay safe! Hugs, Chrisx

crafty-stamper said...

Love all your fabulous backgrounds and great stamps especially the flowers on the first one-gorgeous azalea bush
carol x

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

Such beautiful stamps and colours x