tangled birch

 The colour challenge for Chocolate Baroque this month features blues, which fitted in nicely with my current fix on night scenes!
Both versions use the tangled birch  stamp, stamped in black versafine ink.
First one was stamped onto a piece of previously done card coloured with brusho powders that ended up in pale blue with pinky tones. I masked the moon before sponging blue and purple distress inks across the image to create a cloudy sky. The trees and foregorund wee coloured with a dark blue promarker, then clear glitter added to the moon and edges of branches.
Matts are dull silver and dark blue card, base card is a 5"x7" white.

For the second card I used a smooth watercolour card, sponging distress inks across the image to create a more stormy sky. I used clear water and klitchen roll to lighten the moon. I used the brusho liquid wax to edge the branches and the hill behind the trees before colouring them using distress inkMatt is a dull silver, and the base card is 15x15cm dark blue. and a waterbrush. I think I wasn't using enough wax most of the time, but I did still get some of the moonlit effect i was trying for!

seashore scenes

 Thought I would show you the cards that were shown on Lesley's recent show on the Craft Channel featuring seaside stamps. There are some lovely stamps on other sheets, but I only had the
seashore scenes set of stamps - others are still on the want list, especially the mermaid, sea horse and the quotes!
For the first card I used a sheet of paper coloured with my favourite brusho powders that had been around for a while - the sunset colours went well with the lighthouse! I tried to stamp the image (in black versafine) so that the sun was on the yellow part, but did add some extra colour to it with watercolour pencils. Also used the pencils to add colur to the sea and the cliffs and some shading to the lighthouse.
Matted onto dull gold card, base card is 15x15 cm.

Second card is another sunset version. again in black versafine but this time onto a very light grey card. Extra colour added with watercolour pencils

 Somewhat different for the third card, this time using the single image of the lighthouse, stamped at the bottom right of a white 15x15cm card blank. Cloud stamps added , also the grass stamps to give sand dunes. The seagull was stamped on a spare bit of white card, coloured with watercolour pencils, and die cut. Matching diecut in dull gold card,  added to top left of card blank.

 This card used an A6 kraft card blank as a base, again coloured with watercolour pencils.

For the final card I tried to create a night-time scene, stamped in black onto a medium grey card.Coloured with a mix of watercolour pencils and distress inks using a waterbrush. White pen to add highlights and the beam of light from the lighthouse. Matts are white and dull silver.

I really enjoyed playing with this set and the pencils!

seashore 2

For my second DT post this month I decided to use a bargain canvas from a supermarket - think the heat must have been affecting my brain, as not my usual thing at all!
I found an old pot of grunge paste, added a little hot water as it had gone very stiff and stirred it in well, then spread the paste round the edges of the canvas. Stamped into the corners using stamps from the harlequin fragments set, then sponged with distress inks when the grunge was dry.
Fish and seaweed from something fishy and gulls and lighthouse from seashore scenes were all stamped onto white tissue paper using black versafine and coloured with alcohol markers, torn out and added with matt multimedium.- another old pot, seemed a bit discoloured, but then I had no idea what it looked like new, and it worked anyway.
Main image from seashore scenes stamped onto white card, coloured with watercolour pencils then embossed with clear EP, then glued into the centre of the canvas, Small pearls for the bubbles from the shell, then two seashells found on a craft swap table added to finish it off.
Have still got 2 canvasses left from the pack, so I shall have to think of some way to use them before they get lost in the normal chaos of my craft space.............................

textured steampunk

 Apologies to anyone who is getting fed-up with my current steampunk craze, you will be pleased to hear that I am running out of ideas!

For the first of my DT  posts this month I have a card and a couple of Lesley-style notebooks to show you.

Our theme this month is textures, and my card is a very simple one using embossing folders and soft form relief paste together with the  owl from steampunk birds.
I embossed the two Tim Holtz folders on white card, cutting down to 6.5cm wide and and then into 2 slightly different lengths.
The background was a piece of textured matt silver card sprayed with walnut stain ink.
I used silver soft form relief paste on the owl, then carefully trimmed the spare round the edges.

 If you saw Lesley's recent shows on the Craft Channel, you will have seen her make some lovely notebook
 covers using brushos and tissue paper. If you missed them, try the catch-up on the website, though I think it only goes back for 7 days...... I am always happy to play with brushos, and crumpling tissue paper is dead easy, so I just had to have a go.
In hindsight, I should have gesso-ed the covers first, as some of the print on the covers shows through, but I was very happy with how they turned out.
The first one used blue and green brushos, and the window from gothic fragments covered with black soft form relief paste . I added some decoart antiquing cream in patina green over the window, then some gold wax to highlight the masonry.




For my second try I used leaf green, turquoise and purple brushos, and the cockerel from steampunk birds with the silver soft form relief paste.
I will definitely be making more of these notebooks, they are great fun to do and will make nice small gifts.

shaving foam

When I saw the latest challenge from The Male Room, I was having a break from attempting to restore some sort of order to my craft space, and had just unearthed some backgrounds made during a brusho/shaving foam playday earlier this year.
This one got a reprieve from the binbag, as I fancied it looked like a turbulent sea, and it went with a previously unused stamp from Crafty Individuals.........
The shaving foam had just been sprinkled with blue and green brusho powders and swirled round without adding any water, and the powders spread in streaks when the shaving foam was scraped off.
The stamp was stamped separately on white card with black versafine, clear embossed, and coloured with some ancient H2O paints, cut out and added with foam pads. I cut out the wording, added to to scraps of the same blue card I used for matting and then to the top of the brusho card/
Base card is a 15x15 cm white.
I am entering this for the Male Room challenge 42 - use shaving foam
and Addicted to Stamps and More challenge 207 - make your mark

seashore

Our theme this month is summer, which to be honest is really what you would expect!
My first thought was to use some of my favourite poppy stamps, but they have had a lot of use, so I went for seaside - bit limited for choice there, so maybe I should have stuck with the poppies!
My first card uses stamps from seashore scenes, and I tried to create a slightly different scene.
The seagull was stamped first using black versafine ink,, then masked with masking tissue and the scene stamped over him - I didn't ink the stamp all the way to the bottom, as I wanted it to be background. The dunes at the front were stamped using the larger sand/grass stamp stamped several times to form foreground dunes.
Dunes and stump were coloured with alcohol markers, bird and everything else with watercolour pencils..
Base card is 15cm square, stamped with the sentiment several times to form a background using a pale brown inkpad. The scene was matted onto black and gold card.


My second card used the something fishy set of stamps, and the main image was stamped in black versafine, then the larger fish image added beside it.
Simply coloured with watercolour pencils, and glossy accent added to the bubbles from the shell.
Base card this time is A6

Thanks for reading this - my teamies have some smashing ideas to show you, so keep checking, you won't be disappointed!

hummingbirds?

 Sunday was another ClarityEast day at Bawburgh with Janet Pring, and these were the results.
I think the stamp set we used was hummingbirds - am sure Janet will correct me if I'm wrong!- at least, they look like hummingbirds to me....
Birds stamped onto a strip of white card with black archival ink, background sponged with distress inks in tumbled glass, peeled paint and salty ocean, then the foliage stamp around the edges in salty ocean.
The circles behind the birds were cut out - it went very quiet while we all concentrated! Double-sided adhesive behind the cutouts, then gilding flakes added - long time since I used these.
Narrow mat of bluegreen added, then mounted onto a white DL card blank.




Being me, I had stamped another couple of images onto spare card while i waited for the gilding flakes, and these are the ones I finshed off at home yesterday.
 The first is another DL size card, but with greater use of the foliage stamp along two edges, distress inks tumbled glass, broken china and peeled paint. Coppery gilding flakes on this one.

The second one I repeat stamped the foliage in hickory smoke and black soot distress inks, and sponged hickory smoke ropund the edges.
A final stamping in black archival of the foliage to give more depth to the background. I used silvery gilding flakes behind the birds this time.
Narrow black mat onto an A5 card blank - I really liked the monochrome effect.

                                                             

In the afternoon we played with bleeding art tissue to create the background - loved the random watercolour effect.
We used the foliage stmap again from the morning, and I used a butterfly stamped onto white card and coloured with marker pens - there is glitter on the wings, added with stickles.
Most other people used a parchment butterfly and a groovi board - happy to say I wasn't the only awkward one this time!

Thanks to Janet for another lovely day crafting - and the extra bits of tissue to play with