INKY FINGERS

 Thought I'd shock you and post next day 😍

I found my photos of the book I made for an old friend...a friend I really love and respect, to be honest.  Although more my mum's age than mine, her youngest son is the same age as my younger son and they were best friends at school, until we went to live in France, many, many years ago. She's now one of a group I belong to in the church I'm currently at, and always someone to turn to - a real spiritual Mum. Because of lockdowns, we obviously haven't been able to meet up for the last year, communicating via Whatsapp  instead. The first day we were able to meet up again - socially distanced, in our Community garden - was her birthday, so I was asked to make something for her. 

It was a disaster from beginning to end. I started by trying to make someone else's design - very NOT 'me'. Because of the mess I was in with medication problems I had, I tore it up and restarted it 3 times and was tearing my hair out by the time I finished it, crying every time I went into my craft room.. So, I decided against the die cut book and made a concertina. I still tore out pages and started over again a couple of times, but that was mainly because no matter how hard I tried, I ended up with marks on my white space every single time I touched the book. So by the time I gave it to her, some of these pages were missing - mainly tag pages - but  I'd added a couple, too. I did a LOT of die cutting, as you can see - plus all the pages and layers I threw away!

Front of folded book

But where did April and May go??? Doesn't it seem strange?

I'd been trying to use up my Ecoline inks to make backgrounds and was really enjoying the vivid colours - unfortunately, they're not lightfast, so they will fade in time. They are so full of pigment and make beautiful rainbow effects. I've had them for years, but only used up one - the yellow - which I really miss.

This is one of the Ecoline backgrounds, although the photo just doesn't do the colours justice. They almost glow, they're so vivid! 

There’s a new Challenge Blog, which appeals to me because it really IS a challenge – CAS Stencil. CAS isn’t something I’d normally associate with Stencils. In fact, when I use stencils, I just throw on more and more layers of ink – most of the time. So I thought I’d try it…

The first challenge is Sponging, so for CAS Stencil, I made this… but also with Make My Monday’s Use a Sentiment challenge.

I used one of my favourite stencils – don’t know why I love it so much, but I love these higgledy piggledy rectangles and squares. I used Twisted Citron and Peacock Feathers Oxide inks.

I’m running a ‘Make Someone Smile’ Mingle on KCUK, so I thought I’d make another one, with a fun slant, this time stencilling only the corners.

My link to the ‘s’ is a bit ‘off’ – looks almost like an ‘r’. Must do that more carefully next time!

With the mingle in mind, I also made this one, adding spots and dots for the Sweet Stampin’ Challenge.

I also had Stamping Sensations’ Fabulously Feminine Challenge in mind when making this one and the next, although I really wish I hadn’t added the extra bubbles to the next one… it looked much better as a CAS card. I’ll do another one when I’m in the mood… I didn’t find this one easy to colour! I made another couple using another stamp I didn’t find easy to colour…I need to find a tutorial on colouring liquids and glass!

Just in case you’re wondering, while I do enjoy a nice glass of wine – or two – I don’t drink that much! In fact, I still have wine in that I bought for last Christmas and never got around to opening, despite taking a couple of bottles to my son’s on Christmas Day! But these words just make me chuckle, so I’m hoping they’ll do the same for the mingle recipients. WARNING… there are more to come!

The wine word stamps are new, so I’m pleased to be able to link to the Creatalicious ATG with optional ‘Something New’ challenge, SSS Monday Challenge and SSS Wednesday Challenge .

That’s all for now…

Thank you for popping by

Back soon

Cath

xxx

I’ve had a free day today, so I’ve been enjoying the quiet of my craft room… bliss!

Only 2 more days left in November… I thought I’d be relieved, but I’m beginning to realise I’ll miss my (almost) daily visits to the AEDM peeps… but I’m sure Christmas prep will soon take over! Good AND bad but definitely busy… and I can see most of you at Art Journal Journey.

Today, day 28, I’m thankful for flowers.

Earlier today, I went into my yard to check the bulbs I’d planted and was pleasantly surprised at just how many fuchsias are still in bloom. I love them at any time but they just looked especially beautiful this morning because I didn’t expect them. (I should explain that in England a yard isn’t a garden, as it is in the US, but a paved area behind the house, most often found in older terraced (all joined together) houses, like mine. This house is over 100 years old and was owned by the builder of the whole terrace – about 8 houses and 2 small shops - so it’s a little bigger than the others and had just been completely renovated when I moved in . I keep lots of pots of flowers, herbs, hanging baskets and other things there.)

My journal page is a stark contrast to yesterday’s plain page (now with more stamping and stencilling added) – it’s busy – way TOO busy, really but I was having fun I was in French mode, so did a lot of my journalling and stamping in French but the torn text is in English.

As usual, the die cuts have absorbed some of the Oxide inks behind them but I don’t mind that. The black flowers are stencilled, not stamped, but they are embossed because I used Versafine ink to stencil with.

I’d forgotten I also intended posting this pic of my favourite floral treat – when in season – I’ve only recently begun to love tulips, but love the fact that as they are decaying, they open up and gradually change colour, displaying an amazing range of hues and looking more and more beautiful – a bit like Autumn leaves. I keep them until they really are falling apart.

I made some cards for a couple of challenges, too.  In keeping with the Floral theme, I made this one…

…which fits in nicely with the challenge over at

Addicted to Stamps and more - photo inspiration

This one is for Moo Mania and More – Trees

I also made another tree card – I think the grey, dark weather was influencing my choices, today.

This one is for Time Out’s Black, White and one colour challenge…

and also for

Craft Creations, Anything Goes

and

Casology – Girl

I am, of course, also linking to AEDM

Thank you for stopping by

See you again soon, hopefully tomorrow

Cath

xxx

Hello lovelies… I’m just nipping in quickly to join in a couple of challenges before they disappear… I’ve already missed one I’d made something for, so rather than wait until I finish a couple of others, I thought I’d better get these posted. I also NEED to close some of the tabs I have open, draining my laptop resources

I made this for the Daring Cardmakers Apple Day challenge… it’s a long time since I’ve used this Chapel Road stamp. I used Oxides, and stamped the main image three times.. but wasn’t very happy that there is no real focus point, so I added the lettering – which is, in fact, a stamp from Time to Stamp, cut up. I love the fruits at this time of year, so it’s a good reason to celebrate them.

I’d also like to enter it into the Artistic Stamper’s Inktober challenge.

We’re now well and truly into Autumn and feeling the change in the weather in the North West, so it’s easy to think of Autumn, especially with yesterday’s sudden shedding of leaves – they were everywhere!

So, still focusing on Autumn. this one is for

Addicted to CAS challenge – Foliage

Addicted to Stamps and More’s CAS challenge.

Addicted to Stamps’ Autumn Colours challenge

Dare 2B Artzy’s Fall Challenge

Double Trouble’s Halloween or Fall Challenge

Penny Black and More Autumn Splendour (3rd entry) 

and

Dragonfly Dreams’ Autumnal Colours Challenge.

For My Time to Craft – a cat! This is another Katzelcraft image.

I haven’t done any stamping the last couple of days… I’ve been trying to unjam my Big Shot…. I managed to run misaligned plates through it and they’ve jammed it I’ve taken it apart, following instructions on the web, but I still can’t get the plates out, so I’m rather miffed! Hopefully, I’ll learn from it, though I may get my son to ‘bash it’ a bit, to see if he can release them!

Thank you for looking

Back soon

Cath

xxx

The theme at Time Out Challenges is Colourful. I love colourful backgrounds and my luvverly postie had just brought me this new set of stamps, so I used an Oxide rainbow I’d already created and stamped over it. I’m not sure about the butterfly, but I just felt it needed a little something to balance it.

There are still some Autumn/Fall challenges around, so I made a couple of leafy cards, but this time sticking with greens and using only an SU set mum bought me. They’re both very similar apart from a change in one of the leafy colours and a bit more stamping on the second.

Dare to be Artsy – Fall

CAS on Friday – Thank you card

Ellibelle’s Crafty Wednesday – Outdoors/Nature

Words to Craft By – Leaves

Shopping Our Stash – Giving Thanks

Then I spotted a pink and grey challenge, which is right up (or down?) my street at the moment because grey is (one of) my latest obsession(s) 

This is pretty Autumnal in theme, too. I used Hickory Smoke Oxide and Prisma Pencils to colour.

Cas-ual Fridays – Pinks and Greys

I think the rain is playing on my mind because I made this yesterday, playing with Hickory Smoke and Dusty Concord Oxides.

This is for  the Creative Moments ATG challenge 

and Tuesday Throwdown’s ATG challenge

That’s all for today

Thanks for looking

Back soon

Cath

xxx

It’s good to ring the changes, so I thought I’d try a couple of CAS Autumn themes.

My first is for Crazy for CAS, whose theme is Fall in love…using an old Stampendous stamp.

My second is a design I often come back to because it’s simple but effective.

I’d like to link this to the following challenges:-

Penny Black and More – Autumn Splendour

Stamping Sensations – Shades of Autumn

Addicted to Stamps – Autumn Colours

Allsorts – Trees and/or Leaves

This next one didn’t turn out as intended… I stamped the image in Aged Mahogany DI, intending to go back in with my Prismas, to add some shading, etc, but first I used a damp paintbrush to work the colour – a bit too enthusiastically! It smudged too much. Giving up on it, I continued to smudge the stamping with more water and went off to do something else. When I came back, I decided I actually like the effect, so I added a bit of text stamping, followed by a sentiment, then layered it up. Looking at it now, I’m thinking I may add a little bit of another colour to make it pop… I’ll go back to it later.

I have a couple of circular gelli plate prints in my background pile and this is one of them, in one of my favourite colour combinations.

I’ve missed journalling while my visitors were here and really wanted to take part in Art Journal Journey’s Creature Comforts Challenge, but I don’t have any stamps of the things I find comforting and didn’t really want to draw them…  T

hen I remembered the napkin stash I keep on the top of my shelving… et voilà, I found some my Swiss friend, Cathy, who lives in France, gave me last time I was visiting. None of them are straight, but t was fun to mess around  even if I’m not really a chocolate fan (I prefer crisps and fruit) and I prefer a nice medium white wine to a red!

But I do definitely  love a good, black coffee and especially in the morning…

Art Journal Journey – Creature Comforts

Back soon

Thanks for looking

Have a great week!

Cath

xxx

I’m still playing with the beautiful, rich shades of Autumn and nature stamps… can’t resist. 

The Dragonfly Dreams challenge is Autumnal Colours and

Ellibelle’s Crafty Challenge is Nature/Outdoors, while Country View Challenges have a Plant-tastic theme..

This one’s a simple leafy card, stamped on watercolour paper with Archival inks, then watercoloured with Distress inks and splattered with Delicata gold ink.

Then I played with my other Autumn love -  ‘shrooms - for a little while… my friend and I used to go fungus foraging and often found some amazing specimens!

This one’s fungus and faeries… ‘shrooms courtesy of Lavinia Stamps….bunny from Inkylicious.

Then, playing with green, orange and brown , I made this background, then stamped it with Lavinia flowers? and more ‘shrooms… colouring with Prisma pencils and a Mermaid paint pen (Jane Davenport). Both the flowers and the ‘shrooms are stamped with Versafine Clair Fallen Leaves, which is dark brown, but it looks black.

I was thinking about these colours and suddenly remembered my Chinese Lanterns stamp, so I stamped in Russet Archival, then coloured them, again with Distress Inks, adding a few floating leaves and a bit of Wild Honey stencilling. I love the Impression Obsession words.

There’s a a Make Your Mark challenge on Addicted to Stamps and More 

and a ‘Fall’ Challenge at Sisterhood of Crafters.

The Everybody Art Challenge is asking for Orange and Brown.

Lastly, a very simple leafy card, made with the card left after die cutting and one of my scrapling cards for the CASology Gratitude Challenge.

Thank you so much for looking

Back soon

Cath

xxx

The challenge at Allsorts this week is Autumn Glory, so I thought I’d play around a little more with Autumn shades. There’s also a Nature challenge on Alphabet Challenge.

This is one of two of my favourite leaf stamps – it’s big - this card is 6” square! I made a lot of cards with both stamps last year, but mainly the other one, so I thought I’d ring the changes and use a different word stamp.

I played with this stamp first, inspired by a card I’d seen at CAS Mix-up., but I’m not happy with the way it turned out, so I decided not to use it for the challenge.

I also made a monochrome card, using Gathered Twigs in both Oxides and Distress, though I first sponged the background with Antique Linen Oxide, stamping an old Hero Arts paper texture stamp over it in the same colour. I stamped the centre leaves in Distress ink, embossed them, then masked before stamping the others in Oxide. Using a damp paintbrush, I blended the colour I’d stamped, then added some second generation background stamping in Oxide. Third generation may have been better on hindsight. I then stamped the words in Distress Ink, clear embossed, and added some touches of Distress ink painting over all the  leaves and around their edges.

This This is for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Shopping our Stash have a Smooshing Technique challenge, and since I love smooshing, I had to play! This card is A5 size – not small!

Addicted to CAS have a Diamond challenge, so I made this simple card as an experiment – I learned from it…

That’s all for now

Thanks for looking

See you soon

Cath

xxx