Looking at Backgrounds (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. Even in times like these, I hope that you have been able to find some enjoyment in your crafting, in whatever form that has taken. A lot of you have been saying that your mojo has taken a walk, but hopefully the inspiration here on the blog, on the Facebook Group, and Lesley's daily Facebook live posts are continuing to provide you with lots of ideas.

I have created a card for you using the lovely Katya, and stamps from the Timeless stamp set. I used a piece of card from my stash that had been washed with a tea bag dipped in warm water. This gives the card a lovely aged feel, perfect for the look I wanted. It's a very quick way of colouring a background.

I stamped Katya using dark brown Archival ink, and covered the image with masking tissue, before adding the large image from the Timeless stamp set a couple of times. I then added lots of the smaller images using second generation stamping to fill the rest of the space, and overstamping the other image as well. I used sepia tones, keeping in with the general colour palette.

I removed the mask, and coloured Katya with Koh-I-Noor Polycolour pencils, these blend really well, and add a pop of colour to the main image. I felt that the main decorative piece on Katya's headdress reminded me of a cog, and so she fitted so well with the 'Timeless' theme, a lady from a bygone era.

To create my second card, I added Distress Inks to a piece of Drawing Cartridge with some water, and then stamped the little butterflies from Baroque Meadow across the background using toning colours of Versafine Clair inks. I used a whiteboard postcard, and stamped a sentiment from Words of Gratitude across the background using grey Archival Ink. I added some shading around the edge of the postcard using Distress Ink and stamped the Tangled Birch over the top, which I coloured with pencils as before.

My final card, which I shared at the time of the TV shows was a really quick card, a simple Brusho background with the same wording added. I then stamped the images from Baroque Meadow in black ink, and added a piece of black ribbon, before mounting the project onto black card.

These lovely stamps are so versatile, always a pleasure to create with. I will be back later in the month with more ideas to share with you. Take care for now, and stay safe,

Judith xx