INKY FINGERS

Because the current Try it on Tuesday challenge is to  'Use a Stencil or Two' I challenged myself to create a couple of cards with no stamps - only stencils. I almost chose this as the current KCUK 'Mingle' because I knew it would  make people laugh. I'm the one who always insists that all swaps and mingles must have some stamping on them somewhere! I opted for something else, but I may yet do that... I wanted to drag myself away from just using a little stencilling to a background to break it up a bit and add interest. 

I haven't made anything with this, but I'll show it anyway - it was just a play with using two stencils together. I don't like it much but I'm sure it would work better with stencil paste. Life got in the way, so I didn't get back to play some more with the idea...but I did add a bit of text stamping afterwards!

I thought I'd make a quick 'Having Fun' page for Wendy's Art Journal Journey challenge and after I'd added Washi tape to cover up a bit that didn't quite work (!) I decided to put in a strip of polka dot paper, so it would also fit the Moo Mania and More challenge for this fortnight. Sorry if that's not quite what you wanted girls, but there are polka dots on there. Must get some polka dot washi tape...

I started with a Gelli print clean up page in my 8x8 Kraft journal, over which I sponged some Oxides in my favourite colour combinations, then stamped one of my favourite, super quick to colour animal stamps, which always makes me giggle! The embossing powder caught the background, so I knew it would be a nightmare to colour, and so decided to stamp them again on card, colour (with Neocolours) cut out and stick over the stamping...

I had a page in my 8x8 journal which had been painted with acrylics - it probably started life as a Gelli Print clean up page - and left to decorate later,  Then I spotted this image on my (very untidy) desk this image of 4 sheep, dancing, stained with bits of green and yellow. I think I'd used them to mask the same image on a card. They looked grass stained and this sparked off an idea... so this page came into being. If you look closely, I've written on the side, 'You'd be grass stained, too, if you had to sleep in a field!' I added the two sheep on the sides, just to add the music for the party the sheep are having, after roughly stencilling some Dylusions Lime acrylic paint, then stamped and clear embossed some grass and a few small flower heads. This was definitely fun!

Thank you to Wendy for the Art Journal Journey theme of 'Having Fun'.

I'm also linking to Sweet Stampin Challenge for their Funny theme
and Make My Monday's 'Something Humorous' challenge.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...😉

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.

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

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:-

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.