Bunnies and Blooms

Hi everyone, here I am today with another 2 Easter cards … I just seem unable to stop playing with my daffodil stamps right now as they really lift my spirits! I set out to make one with my gel press but after several failed attempts, when I eventually got a print I was happy with there was enough ink left on the gel plate to take a second paler print … so I made another similar card in paler colours with a few tweaks to make it different.

Here’s the first one.

I brayered two colours of Elements ink onto my gel press and spattered with some watered down Elements, then took the prints on 5.5” squares of white stamping card. I stamped my daffodils onto the circle then stamped again onto separate card, coloured with Zig pens and Wink of Stella, then fussy cut out. I masked the circle and added a little background stamping in 2nd generation blue then attached the coloured flowers. Finally I added the bunnies which I highlighted with white pens, added the sentiment, doodled round the circles with fine liner and matted onto coordinating card stock and a 6” card blank. 

Here's an angled pic to show the sparkle.

Stamps: Visible Image Golden Daffodils, Where Flowers Bloom; Lavinia Wild Hares Set (Large); sentiment - See-D;

Media: Lavinia Elements Ink (Blue Lagoon, Sahara); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Blue Belle); Kuretake Clean Colour Zig Watercolour pens; Wink of Stella; gel pen (white); fine liner pen (blue);

Tools: Lavinia Roland gel press.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (5th entry)

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (March) - Mad March Hare (hares, rabbits or Easter) (2nd entry)

Crafting Happiness #168 - Bunnies

Craftlandia #18 - Easter

Creatalicious #275 - Anything Goes with option Easter (3rd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals (4th entry)

Papercraft Challenge #104 - Easter - TOP 3

Shopping Our Stash #518 - Spring Has Sprung (2nd entry)

Simply Create Too #198 - Bunnies and Blooms

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Crafters - Bunnies and/or Chicks

... and the second one.

This one is the second generation print from the gel press, so I coloured the flowers in paler shades. 

Stamps: Visible Image Golden Daffodils, Sketched Tulips; Lavinia Lupin; sentiment - See-D;

Media: As above.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (March) - Mad March Hare (hares, rabbits or Easter) (3rd entry)

Crafty Gals’ Corner #253 - Anything Goes

Love to Scrap #166 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Paper Funday #63 - Anything Goes (3rd entry) - TOP 3

Sheepski #84 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter whatever you're doing. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Vintage Spring Delights

Hi everyone, this month’s Tracy Evans FB ATC swap is on the theme of “Spring Delights” which gave me another opportunity to break out my “Elegant Spring Florals” set, including inking up the lovely tulip stamp for the first time. I came up with 2 coordinating designs and actually made 8 ATC’s - 4 for the swap plus 4 more to trade privately … my largest ATC series to date!! I also decided to go off piste slightly with a vintage look for my spring ATC’s instead of pastel colours.

I created smoosh backgrounds with Distress Oxide inks on a couple of large snippets, and cut into 8 pieces each slightly smaller than a standard ATC. Onto each one I stamped “Bulb Gazette” using Golden Meadow Versafine Clair, then stamped either a daffodil or tulip in Pinecone. I coloured the stems with Distress watercolour pencils, then stamped the flower heads onto separate card, coloured with Distress watercolour pencils, cut out and attached. I added a little stencilling to the background in green, added white gel pen highlights to the flowers, and edged each piece with blended DOX in Scorched Timber to add to the vintage feel. I stamped my flower words onto separate cream card, cut out, distressed and attached, then matted each piece onto dark brown pearlescent card stock cut to standard ATC size.

Stamps: AALL & Create #623 Elegant Spring Florals, #907 Bulb Gazette;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Scorched Timber); Distress watercolor pencils (Barn Door, Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint); Versafine Clair (Pinecone, Golden Meadow, Nocturne); gel pen (white);

Tools: AALL & Create stencil #124 Lotza Diamondz.

Here’s a closeup of each design.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #773/4 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (4th entry)

Craftlandia #18 - Easter or Anything Goes - WINNER

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (March) - Use Stencils (2nd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals (3rd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Shopping Our Stash #518 - Spring Has Sprung

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Easter/Spring (2nd entry)

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage (2nd entry)

Challenges I would like to enter:

C.R.A.F.T. #713 - Easter/Spring  (2nd entry)

Creative Crafting Uncles #51 - Spring and/or Easter (3rd entry) - TOP 5

Creative Fingers #274 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2412 - Anything Goes

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage (3rd entry)

We Love 2 Create #2 2024 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (4th entry)

Word Art Wednesday #641/642 - Anything Goes 

I love taking part in this ATC swap as I so enjoy making them with Tracy’s stamps, and the ATC’s I receive back have all been really beautiful so far. 

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Dare To Be Different

Hi everyone, today I would like to share the card I made for a one-off card swap that was organised on the Tracy Evans FB page, where the idea was to use Tracy’s latest own-brand stamps as the focal point for the design. The organiser was fellow group member Fiona, whose blog I already know well, and it turned out that she was also my swap partner. I very much admire Fiona’s lovely creations so I was really excited about the swap.

I decided to use the cute new Quirky Birds, and wanted to create something really different, I had an idea of placing a brightly coloured bird amongst several plain ones on a grey background, to emphasise the concept that the colourful one “dares to be different”. 

I created a smooshed background with several shades of grey and black Distress Oxides, then stamped and heat embossed a bird at each side. I stamped and heat embossed the bird with hearts onto separate card, coloured with Zig pens and Spectrum Noir sparkle pen then fussy cut out. 

I wanted to mount the coloured bird onto a rainbow coloured background and played around with die cut circles, but then hit on the idea of using the branched heart. I stamped it and heat embossed both on the inked background and on separate white card, then coloured the heart on white card with Zig pens, spattered with water then fussy cut. I attached the heart and bird to the centre of the card, and added some background stamping in grey and a couple of words in black. 

I stamped the main sentiment onto separate card, masking it so I could stamp the word “different” in rainbow colours (very fiddly, but worth it!), then cut out, edged and attached. Finally I stamped, cut out and attached some little hearts, added some white gel pen highlights, then matted the finished panel onto black and silver card stock and a 7” x 5” card blank.  

Here's an angled pic to show the sparkle.

I also decorated the inside of the card ...

... and the envelope.

Stamps: Tracy Evans Boutique Designs TE10 Quirky Birds, TE6 Branched Heart; AALL & Create #533 Bring On the Sentiments, #531 Textured Florals;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Lost Shadow, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist, Tulip Red, Summertime, Cheerful, Rainforest, Blue Belle, Twilight, Monarch); Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); gel pen (white).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Colourful Options (March) - Rainbow Inspired - TOP 3

Creative Inspirations (March) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Creative Knockouts #517 - Sparkle and Shine

Lost Coast Portal To Creativity #183 - Let's Fly (2nd entry)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2411 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Paper Funday #63 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Time Out #259 - Birds of a Feather

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes (5th entry)

This card is really quite left field for me but I had a lot of fun and enjoyed making it, and can share it now that it has arrived safely.

Whilst making the above card I did a bit of experimenting with Zig pens scribbled on acetate and spritzed with water. I didn’t use the results on the card, but with some leftover ink on my acetate I created a mop up background on a scrap of card, and decided to make a quick and simple ATC with it … here it is.

I created a mop up background on a scrap of card with Zig pens scribbled on acetate, then cut the inky background to 3.25” x 2.25”. I added silhouette stamping flower, beetle and background text, then stamped the sentiment onto separate card, cut out and attached. I added white gel pen highlights and a touch of sparkle pen before matting onto a black border - job done!

 

Stamps: Woodware Mini Floral Silhouettes, Additions (background text), Blooming (sentiment);

Media: Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; Versamark Clair (Nocturne, Charming Pink); gel pen (white); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #7734/774 - Keep It Simple

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (3rd entry)

Creative Fingers #274 - Anything Goes

Little Red Wagon #748 - Florals (2nd entry)

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Outlawz (March) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone (3rd entry)

We Love 2 Create #2 2024 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (3rd entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Spring Tulips

Hi everyone, this month’s ATC swap over on the Visible Image FB group is on the theme of Flora and Fauna. I decided I wanted to interpret this as spring florals, and to make something bright and cheerful for spring days. I actually made these a while ago, but my swap partner this time lives  in Australia so I had to wait patiently for them to be delivered!

I took a large snippet of stamping card, spritzed with water and sprinkled some of my neglected Brushos to make a background, sprinkling and spritzing until I was happy. When dry I cut it into a 5” square and a rectangle 3.25” x 2.25”. I stamped three tulips onto a separate card snippet and coloured them with Zig pens then fussy cut out. I stamped tulips onto the inked panels for placement, then added black dotty stencilling and white heat embossed background script. I  stamped the word “Spring” onto the card, and matted onto a black and orange border cut from larger snippets.  Finally I stamped some script onto the tulips and attached, then stamped “new life” onto a separate scrap of card, cut out and attached.

Stamps: Visible Image Sketched Tulips;

Media: Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Versamark; WOW ultra fine white embossing powder;  Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; Brushos (yellow, leaf green); Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Black soot);

Tools: Visible Image stencil - Halftone.

Here’s a closeup of each with challenges I would like to enter.

Card

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes (2nd entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #713 - Easter/Spring - TOP 3

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (March) - Use Stencils

Creative Crafting Uncles #51 - Spring and/or Easter (2nd entry)

Creative Inspirations (March) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Fab 'n' Funky #591 - Spring (2nd entry)

Four Seasons (March) - Spring (3rd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Easter/Spring

Snippets Playground #476 - Use Snippets - WINNER

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

ATC

Crafts Galore Encore #121 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Crafty Addicts #11 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals (2nd entry)

Everybody Art #553 - Spring (2nd entry)

Little Red Wagon #748 - Florals (2nd entry)

Outlawz (March) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone (2nd entry)

Paper Funday #63 - Anything Goes

Retro Rubber #226 - Spring Is On the Way!

(I have had this tulip stamp set for a year)

We Love 2 Create #2 2024 - Anything Mixed Media Goes (2nd entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

 

I Spy With My Little Eye #13

Hi everyone, March is racing by and it's the third Wednesday in the month again, so it’s time for a new I Spy With My Little Eye... challenge over at Ellibelle's Corner.  Thanks so much to everyone who joined in last time … please do check over on Ellie’s blog to see if you are one of our top picks. 

Ellie has chosen the challenge theme this month, and it is

I Spy With My Little Eye 

*** Something Yellow ***

A lovely theme with spring drawing on and Easter just around the corner, so I really hope you can join us with your spring flowers, Easter chicks or anything else yellow you can think of! Please do pop over to Ellie's blog to see her fab creation and link up your entries here . 

We also have Irene joining us as guest designer this month, so please click on her name to visit her blog and see her wonderful interpretation of the theme. 

Here's my card for the challenge - I went in a fairly obvious direction with a daffodil, partly because daffodils are my favourite flowers, and also because it is nearly Easter plus this is a stamp I hadn't yet got round to inking up since I bought it before Christmas in the AALL & Create sale!

I decided to try the simple but effective "inkbox card" technique which is fairly popular at the moment, as demonstrated in a Youtube tutorial by Sarah Anderson. However instead of using the technique to make a small square card, I used it as a highlight for my flower on a bigger rectangular card. 

I cut a piece of white stamping card 6.25" x 4.25" and created my inkbox square by inking up the edge of the lid of a Distress Oxide inkpad, stamping it then drawing the water inwards with a water brush. I then stamped the daffodil and coloured with Distress watercolour pencils, then added the stamped word and birds. I added some white gel pen highlights and Stabilo All white pencil shading, then added a couple of sentiments made from torn washi tape. Finally I added some gold Posca spatters, and when dry matted onto black and yellow borders and a 7" x 5" card blank.

Stamps: AALL & Create #623 Elegant Spring Florals, #648 Firendship Florals;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress oxide ink (Fossilized Amber); Distress watercolor pencils (Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Carved Pumpkin, Peeled Paint); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); gel pen (white); Stabilo All pencil (white); Posca pen (gold);

Other: AALL & Create washi tape #44 - Around.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #772 - Fur and/or Feathers / Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #15 - Anything Floral Goes with optional Mood Board

Creative Crafting Uncles #51 - Spring and/or Easter

Creative Moments #256 - Flora and Fauna (3rd entry)

Double Trouble #162 - Spring Florals - WINNER

Everybody Art #553 - Spring

Fab 'n' Funky #591 - Spring

Four Seasons (March) - Anything Spring Goes with optional Mood Board (2nd entry)

Little Red Wagon #748 - Florals

Make My Monday - Spring - Flowers, Weather etc. (2nd entry)

Stamping Sensations (March) - Spring (3rd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

The I Spy challenge will end on the Sunday before the next challenge starts at 23:59 US Central Time - so this time that is Sunday April 14th, and the next challenge will begin on Wednesday April 17th.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Fly Free

Hi everyone, today I would like to share a set of ATC's I made with Tracy Evans' new stamps. over the past few months I haven't really been making ATC's except for organised themed swaps, so last week I decided to  make a set "just because" so that I can trade them individually.

I cut four pieces of white card, each 3.25" x 2.25", and stamped and heat embossed the background stamp in white. I then created a layered inky background for each one by smooshing two or three different colours of Distress Oxide ink and applying with acetate, then randomly stamping parts of the text from the background text in a colour to match the background. I stamped the birds onto separate card, fussy cut and attached, added white gel pen highlights and used an Inktense pencil to "ground" them. I stamped some little birdy footprints into the bottom corner, and drew a doodly circle onto each ATC with a fine liner pen in a colour to co-ordinate with the background. Finally I stamped, cut out and attached my sentiments, matted the finished panels onto black linen cardstock, and applied some sparkle to the wings in the background with my Spectrum Noir sparkle pen.

Here is a closeup of each ATC.

ATC1

Stamps: Tracy Evans Boutique Designs TE4 New Beginnings, TE9, Take Flight; AALL & Create #690 Robin and Nuthatch (footprints);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Salvaged Patina, Cracked Pistachio, Wilted Violet); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Monarch); Versamark; WOW ultra fine white embossing powder; Inktense pencil (black); gel pen (white); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #772 - Feathers and/or Fur

Dragonfly Dreams (March) - Circles (2nd entry)

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #183 - Let's Fly

Love to Scrap #166 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

We Love 2 Create #2 - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

ATC2

Supplies as above except: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Saltwater Taffy, Vintage Photo, Uncharted Mariner); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Twilight).

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #5 2024 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)
Creative Crafters #74 - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers #273 - Anything Goes

Love to Craft #79 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Outlawz (March) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone 

Tracy Evans FB Challenge (March/April) - Vintage

ATC3

Supplies as above except: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Picked Raspberry, Villainous Potion); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Charming Pink).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Ally's Angels #80 - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz #667 - Anything Goes

Creations In Pink #68 - Anything Goes in Mainly Pink

Mix It Up #70 - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2411 - Anything Goes

ATC4

Supplies as above except: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Squeezed lemonade, Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Warm Breeze).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Crafts Galore Encore #121 - Anything Goes

Crafty Addicts #11 - Anything Goes

Shopping our Stash #517 - Round and Round

Simon Says (Wednesday) - A Bit o' Green

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Green

That’s all from me for today. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Gorgeous Gus!

Hi everyone, today I would like to share my husband’s birthday card. He loves nature generally and birds in particular, and I love to make him a card which is on the “cute” spectrum. I previously made a cute owl card I was very pleased with here using the Lavinia owl Gus, so I decided to make a bigger and extended version of the same design for this one.

I cut a 7 1/4” square of stamping card, stamped Gus in Nocturne Versafine Clair then masked him and stamped the bough for him to sit on in Pinecone. I then masked the bough as well and stamped some extra branches. I added a large circle mask then blended Blue Atoll and Dark Denim Elements inks around the circle and the edges of the card to form a moon and sky; then I used the outer circle mask to blend some Stormy Sky Distress Oxide inside the moon to add depth. I stamped my background owl wording in grey, then stamped some branches in the top left and added a birdie on the branch, an owl in flight and a hedgehog in the bottom corner.

I removed the owl mask and coloured Gus and the branches using my Zig pens (I didn’t have them when I made the original card), used black fineliner to make his eyes and beak blacker, and added white gel pen highlights. I also added white gel pen highlights to the bird, owl and hedgie, and some shading using my new Stabilo All white pencil (thanks very much to Sarn for making aware of this .. I’m very pleased with it).

At this point I felt it needed something more to fill the extra space as it is a bigger card, so I added two background fairy castles in 1st and 2nd generation Morning Mist. I grounded them by adding some landscaping with my Mini Hill masks and Distress Oxide, and coloured the windows with Sakura Stardust pens which I also used to highlight the scene.  I stamped the sentiments onto separate card, cut out, edged with blue Promarker and attached, then matted the finished panel onto a blue pearlescent card border and an 8” square card blank. Finally I added some sparkle to the moon with my Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, and Glossy Accents to make Gus’s eyes shine … I was a bit anxious about this as my recently purchased bottle was a dud and I’ve not had chance to replace it yet, but I found an old gunged up mini bottle in my cupboard and managed to get it flowing! (phew!!).

Here's a closeup angled pic to show Gus's shiny eyes and the sparkle on the moon.

Stamps: Lavinia Gus, Vine Branch, Far World Castle, Brodwin and Maylin, Wallace Family, Bird Collection, Words From the Heart; Pink Frog Typewriter Sentiments;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Blue Atoll, Dark Denim); Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Stormy Sky, Hickory Smoke); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Pinecone, Morning Mist, Twilight, Tulip Red); Kuretake Zig Clean Colour watercolour brush pens; gel pen (white); Sakura Stardust pens (yellow, clear); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); Stabilo All pencil (white); Glossy Accents;

Tools: Lavinia circle acetate masks, Mini Hill masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #5 2024 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #771 - Use Yellow/Anything Goes (2nd entry)

(I have used some yellow on my owl and the castle windows, but it’s mostly anything goes!)

Addicted to Stamps and More #463 - Birthdays

Creative Inspirations (March) - Anything Goes

Creative Moments #256 - Flora and Fauna (2nd entry)

Incy Wincy (March) - Birthday

Lavinia Creative Challenge (March) - Animal Magic (version without sentiment)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2410 - Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge #96 - For the Boys / Men

Word Art Wednesday #639/640 - Anything Goes

I really do love Gus and am very pleased with how this project turned out, so I’m hoping he will like it too! Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,