Full Bloom Christmas
3 hours ago
Saturday, 6 February 2021
Happy New Year!!!
How ridiculous is it to be wishing you all a happy new year on 6 February - but it's my first post since 2020, so I really do want to start this year's blogging in the right way. Hope you haven't forgotten or given up on me!
I'm sorry I haven't been around until now - in all honesty, I wasn't able to sit at my table for long enough to do much after Christmas, so I did an odd bit of watercolouring as and when I was able - and coloured some stamped images now and again. Then, after a course of antibiotics for a very painful kidney infection, I'm chuffed that I can now sit for longer - yay! I can play 😁
I set the monthly Mingle theme for KCUK on 1st and chose MONOCHROME...whose idea was that? I was actually wanting to do Black and White, because I always find that it kickstarts my creativity when it's decided to go on holiday 😉 but I opened it up to include any colour - along with black and white, of course. I also decided to challenge the girls to make a minibook. I've really enjoyed making them lately and know a lot of them love to make them, too. So, I decided to combine the two and make a very simple book - a concertina - but to make it in monochrome.
Disaster #1
I decided on greens - because there are so many to choose from in the Distress range - and because it's a fresh, lifegiving colour. That led to me choosing one of my favourite stamping themes - leaves 😁 (It's also a way of pulling me away from my current Janet Klein and Tracy Easson obsessions!) I pulled out my SU leaves for a change, with Cracked Pistachio, Lucky Clover and Pine Needles Distress Oxides and set to work sponging and stamping. I loved the result. But the whole project was a catalogue of disasters 😖
I folded an A4 sheet of card into 3, leaving a small edge, which I thought I may use as a closure, so I left it. But I inked the reverse of the concertina on one panel, thinking I would use it as a 'cover'. When I came to use it, I'd stamped it upside down 😟 - it didn't matter until I added the words, but I forgot to check. So, I decided to add another panel to the small edge 'tab', but when I did, I didn't attach it very well, and left a sliver of very sticky adhesive from the d/s tape that I couldn't get rid of. I had the bright idea of adding green washi tape, so I did, inking it up to blend it in more. The next mistake was not using enough water with my white paint when I splattered, creating very unsightly thick BLOBS of white paint - yeuck! I tried to brush some into the background, but it was very fast drying and just wouldn't blend at all...but the water from my brush oxidised the ink a little bit TOO much - along with the heavy water splatters that had already done that. Wetting the inks inside the stamped images had also oxidised the inks, but that added more tone to them and was intentional.
So here's the result...Front and 4th panels
All four inside panels
Just to show you how I had planned it, this shows it 'upside down'.
It was dark by the time I'd finished it, but this does show the oxidisation a bit better.
If this had been a card, I would've binned it 😂 but I did make a few cards from it afterwards....and it served its purpose as a sample for KCUK!
Here's one of the cards...
Disaster #2
I was so determined to do something in monochrome that WORKED, that I carried on. I changed colour to purples - one of my favourite, favourite colours - again working with two main colours; this time Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord. I inked up the background with Milled Lavender (very pale), then sprayed water through my stencil to lift off colour... I didn't realise there was ink from another project on the stencil...I got a (not so) lovely yellow/green colour on my paled b/g.
I don't really mind it but it's no longer monochrome 😒
Disaster #3
You'd think I would've learned, but I honestly thought the stencil was stained... it wasn't. I love the result, but this time I got some lovely Salty Ocean on my b/g.... so I shifted gear and made a simple card with one of my already coloured JK images.
I then washed all the stencils I use a lot in VERY HOT water, trying to soak off the staining and excess ink. Then I made this one - which actually IS monochrome, but I don't really like it... I used paint pens and Gel pens to colour.
At this point, the nice Mr Postie arrived with my new Distress ink colour, so it would've been RUDE not to play, don't you think? I quite like the Kitsch Flamingo but I wasn't sure which colour to use with it, so I opted for Picked Raspberry and a little Spun Sugar. I grabbed a tall stamp (as above) and used it. The stamped cheesecloth b/g is an old one from Stamporium - anyone remember them? I also added a little Hickory Smoke because the KF looks really good with grey! A kitsch giraffe instead of a kitsch flamingo...😁
I also made a little book last week and have other things to show you but I think this post is already way too long, so they can wait until another day.
Challenges
Mix it Up - Fancy Folds (Hope the concertina fits that description)
Colour Crazy Challenge - Anything Colouring
Sisterhood of Crafters - Create your own Background
Creations in (Mainly) Pink - Anything Goes in mainly pink
Papercraft Challenge - Dry or Heat Embossing (most stamping heat embossed)
Thanks for calling in and for remembering who I am 😁
Stay safe and well
Back soon
Cath
xxx
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12 very kind comments from lovely people:
OH WOW these are all FANTASTIC! All your background panels are awesome but that 4 panel card is amazing! WELL DONE! Awesome inspiration! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Sisterhood of Crafters challenge! Good Luck and we hope you’ll come back often.
Darlene
SISTERHOOD OF CRAFTERS
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS
Please stop in for a visit!
Wonderful projects, I like all them but that green panel is my favourite, green is one of my favourite colours so it was clear I was going to choose that one. I missed your posts. María, xx
Well first of all Cath, I have to say that it's lovely to have you back with us and I've definitely missed you. I'm pleased that you're feeling well enough to sit for a while as it's wonderful being able to craft and I know that you'll be enjoying it. Your pages are beautiful and what a lovely colour. I have to say that I love the sentiment on your penultimate card, how uplifting. Take care and stay safe my crafty friend x
That doesn't sound like a fun time Cath. So glad you are feeling better. I love your monochrome pieces, even the green. I can see what you mean about the white blobs though. You must be happy to get back to some art time. Hope the rest of your new year is healthy! Hugs-Erika
Lovely to see you out and about again Cath and so sorry about the kidney infection, must be the time of year as it was January a couple of years when I ended up in hospital with the same so know the pain, worse than childbirth I think.
It's good to see you back to your inky ways with some lovely creations and of course we remember who you are, as if we could forget!!
B x
Happy New Year to you and it's lovely to see you posting and I'm pleased you're feeling better. A wonderful array of inky cards and wonderful sentiments.
Take care and stay safe.
Avril xx
Beautiful background panels! Thank you for sharing with us at The Sisterhood of Crafters
Awesome cards. Great images, colors, backgrounds and just fun cards. Thanks for sharing over at Colour Crazy.
Where have I been for a week? Obviously not checking up on you and your blog. I am so glad to see you back posting, not just because I love seeing your work but because it means you are in a position to make cards again. So chuffed (to little mint balls).
I love the green book, the cards that were disasters(?) (says you!) and the one you were eventually satisfied with. Am not too sure about what I think of the new Kitsch Flamingo which just got put in my drawer but I love your Giraffe that you made using that colour.
I am so happy to see you back stamping 'cos I can now sit back and look at my friend, Cath's work.
Hugs, Neet xx
Cath! Good to see you blogging again! Sounds like you have been through a bad health event. Sorry my friend, but I'm thankful you survived and persevered! I'm in similar strait. Hugs to you, oops my power is out, your art is pretty, bye! xoxo
You have used one of my favourite Carabelle Studios stamps here - I love it on the green background! Love your other makes - ooh that pink!!! Take care and Happy New Year to you - it's never too late to wish Happy anything!!! Hugs, Chrisx
great set of cards! Thanks for joining us at papercraft-challenges.
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