Blue and Green (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a couple of projects to share with you today, showcasing stamps that we brought to you on last month's TV shows on Create and Craft.

My first card uses a variety of stamp sets, but the hero of the card is the lovely dragonfly collage from the Fragile Wings stamp set. I decided to stamp this image on a coloured background, a deep teal colour, for a change. We often use black, kraft, grey, etc., but I wanted to reflect the wonderful dragonfly colours in the card background. I used Versafine Clair Nocturne to stamp the image, and Koh-I-Noor pencils to colour the image. I used white pencil first to create a base to add the rest of the colours, and to give a real sense of light to the image.

I created a background using green and blue Distress Ink, and then added stamps from Just Useful and Ace Card, using blue, green and black ink. I matted both layers using black card.

To create my second card, I coloured some Drawing Cartridge using tea, a favourite technique of mine. It's a really quick way of adding colour to a background and creates a vintage feel to a project. I stamped the playing card from Ace Card randomly over the background, and added a touch of turquoise around the edges using a watercolour pen, brush and water. I stamped the large image onto another piece of the rawing Cartridge and coloured the image in the same way using turquoise, green and brown watercolour pens. I edged the layers with the same dark brown ink that I had stamped all of the images with.

I chose to use a piece of scrap corrugated packaging as a mount; I dry brushed the edges with paint to match my colour scheme. Always keep that packaging, you never know when it will come in handy!

I had great fun creating these cards. I hope that they have inspired you. Thanks for stopping by, take care,

Judith xx

Blended Colours (by Sandra)

Hello, I am showing some more of my cards from the May show on Create and Craft.

My first card uses the Alium Collage set.

I started with a piece of watercolour card and stamped the Allium stamp in archival ink. I coloured the Allium with two shades of purple water colour markers. I added splashes of colour around the image and then spritzed it all with water so that the colours merged.  I added a border from Making More Marks and a sentiment.

My next card uses stamp from the Just Useful stamp set.

 I stamped the brush strokes using Versafine Clair inks using my stamping platform. I then stamped the splatters using the same inks. I used the letters to spell out ART on another piece of card and blended around the edges of both cards. I mat and layered the pieces onto some toning card stock.

For my last card today I used Ace Card stamp set. 

I started with a 7x5 card base and trimmed about 1/2" off the front side. With  the card open I stamped the script along the edge so that this could be seen when the card was closed. I then stamped the Ace card over the front of the card, masking each layer. I stamped the collage stamp onto some silk card in VersaMark and embossed in clear. I then used a brayer and 2 colours of Distress ink over the top blending them in the centre. Once the inks were dry I buffed the card with some tissue to remove any ink over the embossing. I mat and layered the collage piece and glued it to the front of the card.

 Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Creating a Journal Page (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a project or two to share with you today showcasing stamps from last month's TV shows on Create and Craft. 

My first project is a two page journal spread, created in a large journal, almost A4 size. It is an American size, so not exactly the same measurement. I like to experiment in a journal, as I can often get ideas for cards and other projects when I am messing about creating journal pages. If I do not like what I create, I can just turn the page, and start again, there is no judgement, my journal is just a place to try out ideas.

I started both sides of the journal spread by inking up the large blank stamp from Slim Word Strip 1 with Distress Oxide, and spritzing it lightly with water. I pressed the stamp down the edge of each page. I chose a lovely moss green. I also stamped the stamp again onto a piece of scrap Drawing Cartridge for later.

Once the edges were dry, I stamped a couple of the word strips over the coloured edges using Versafine Clair Nocturne. I chose random stamps from Making More Marks, and Not More Flowers! using a combination of black orange and green ink to create a background over the pages. I stamped the lovely dandelion clock into the centre of the large circle on both pages, and added some of the olive gree ink within the circle to highlight the flower.

I also added some colour to the flower using watercolour pens, a brush and some water. Finally, I masked up the strip word stamps, and inked up two of the large words on the stamps, before stamping them onto a piece of the spare Drawing Cartridge that I had coloured previously. I cut them out and scrunched these for a bit of added texture before adhering them to the page. 

I did not add any background colour to the page, the stamps themselves were enough I felt, but you could add more colour if you wish, I like the white space, it gives the stamps room to breathe.

Also available on the show were some fabulous embellishments. The first were some really useful acrylic rings, that could be coloured and stamped over. I created a card using the pretty echinacea style flower, which I stamped onto a Distress Ink background. I coloured this with watercolour pens for a soft finish. I added a sentiment from the same stamp set, and then I coloured both pieces of acrylic with alcohol ink. Once they were dry, I stamped the large ring with script from Ace Card, and the little circle with a bee from Honey Bee. These embellishments are just so useful for highlighting a key area of your project, but light enough not to add to your postage costs.

Finally, we had a new sheet of shapes from Tando in three different shapes and two different sizes. These word pebbles are very versatile and can be painted, coloured, textured to create all sorts of effects. I have three samples here to show you just how effective they can be. The first example has had Drawing Cartridge added over the top, and I have added a word from one of the strip stamps, plus the little bee from the Honey Bee stamp set once again.   

The second has another word from one of the strip stamps and the Large Crackle Background over a simple painted background. 

Finally, I added coloured texture paste to  the last pebble and stamped the word strip directly into the paste. Once the paste was dry, I added some black paint, which I rubbed away after a moment or two.

I hope that you have enjoyed my projects, and will be inspired to try some of these ideas out for yourselves. Thanks for stopping by, take care,

 

Judith xx

Fragile Wings & Petals (By Tracy Thompson)

 

These are creations from May's T.V. Shows, there were lots of gorgeous stamps to use.  For my first creation I used the stamp set Fragile Wings, for my base card I had used the wood grain stamp from the set on top of an Oxide inky background.  for my main image I stamped the Butterfly on another oxide inky background.  With watercolour pencils I coloured the butterfly and shaded the circles too.  I also shaded around the the image with a charcoal pencil, smudging it for shading.  I glittered the wings for a bit of sparkle. 

This card I made using a product that's quite new to me, I'm just getting the feel of it and experimenting with it, my new product is Gilding Flakes, I know they have been around for ever but I thought I would like to try a new product and that's what I picked up from the craft store.  So let's start with the stamp set used for this creation Ace Card.  For the base card I used gilding flake glue and smudge the glue around the edge with a sponge, then applied the flakes over the top of a stamped edge from the set.

Now for the main image, I stamped it out then coloured it with Alcohol markers.  I used gilding flake glue and put a thin line around the edge of the image and on parts of the foliage etc....  then dotted some random dots of flakes around the image.  Using a gold posca pen I edged the whole piece of card.

I had fun using these stamps, I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Happy crafting

Tracy x

monochrome grasses (by Veronica)

My first post this month shows two cards using the eastern grasses set of stamps, both in monochrome and both 6" square cards.

The base card was stamped with the tall foliage stamp in grey in one corner to make a frame, and edged with black soot distress ink and then the edges  dragged across a black versafine ink pad. The main image was stamped in versamark onto a piece of black card, then embossed in white.

The second card uses the foliage stamp again, this time as the main image. 

The background card was randomly stamped using stamps from make your mark, the small foliage stamp from eastern grasses and the script from ace card and then sponged with black soot distress ink. Once it was dry, the foliage stmap was stamped on one edge using black verafine ink and clear embossed. 

The foliage stamp was stamped onto a piece of black card using white pigment ink then twice more using second generation stamping. Stamped again using versamark ink and white embossed. Edges torn using the new draw and  tear rulers 
 

Ace of Trees

 Hello

I am showing more of my cards from the January show on Hochanda.

I have used the same stamp set, Ace Card,  for my two cards, but coloured to give totally different effects.

For my first card I used a light brown ink for the background and added some splatters from the Just Useful stamp set. I then stamped the main image from the set and coloured with watercolours. I added a sentiment from Gothic Angels . Love this Vintage look....and it's never too early to make a Christmas card!

For my second card I started with a faux batik effect for the background. 

I stamped the wood panel from Fragile Wings in Versamark and embossed with clear powder. I then blended grey distress ink over the top. With a hot iron and some copier paper I removed the embossing powder to leave just the coloured ink. I then stamped and embossed the main image in silver and coloured in tones of blue and green.

Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Dragonfly Dreams (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I am sharing my final post of the month, showcasing stamps from last month's One Day Special on Hochanda. These stamps have been such great fun to work with, and I hope that you have enjoyed our inspiration this month. on the DT blog.

I started my project by taking a piece of tea stained drawing cartridge from my stash. I have a few of these ready for a quick start to a project. I added salt when the background was wet for extra texture. I stamped the large playing card image from Ace Card with black Versafine ink, and masked the image with Masking Tissue. I added the small script from the same stamp set along one edge, and then the woodgrain image designed by our great friend Kim Moody from the Fragile Wings stamp set all over the background. 

I stamped out three of the smaller playing cards onto a spare piece of background, plus the sentiment. I added some Seedless Preserves Distress ink around the edges of all of the pieces. I coloured the main image with Inktense pencils and blended the colours with a waterbrush. When the image was dry, I added extra details with darker colours. I used a touch of glitter pen over the dragonfly wings.

Thanks for stopping by, take care and stay safe,

Judith xx

nature's ace (by Veronica)

A rather different design from Lesley to share today, the ace card stamp. 

A very delicate image, so coloured with water colour pencils , image cut oput and edged with black ink. Background was stamped in green ink just using the vine part of the stamp, with the small script stamp stamped randomly as well. 

i cheated with the sentiment from the allium collage set by cutting it out the colouring in the hole in the tag shape

My second sample used the woodgrain stamp from fragile wings set for the background stamped using vinatge photo distress ink and brushed with water to spread the colour out.

The main image was stamped onto white card , coloured with watercolour pencils, torn out and edged with green ink. The small card image was stamped twice onto white card, cut out aand tucked behind the main image and the sentiment added to finish
 

Amazing Alliums

 Hello everyone

I am sharing a few more of my cards from the January show on Hochanda.

I have used Alium Collage for my first cards. I sprinkled and spritzed some Brushos onto a piece of cardstock.  I then  stamped the Allium in Black Archival ink. I mixed some Brushos with water to make an ink and coloured the Allium flower.  I finished with one of the sentiment tags and a piece of ribbon

My next card uses the same stamp, but this time I have coloured the stamp with watercolour markers, spritzed the stamp with water and stamped onto cardstock.

My last card for today uses the Just Useful set and it really is a useful stamp set! 

I stamped the brushstrokes with Versamark and embossed with coloured powders. I then stamped the numbers and letters in black archival ink. I added some scripts from Ace Card set. The  background is from Fragile Wings which I stamped in grey archival ink

Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Just Useful Backgrounds (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. I have some cards to share with you that showcase stamps from last month's TV shows from Hochanda. These fabulous stamps formed part of the One Day Special, and are really beautiful. The Design Team had so much fun working with them. 

 My first card was created by stamping the beautiful Alium Collage stamp onto fabric using Archival Ink. I coloured the image with Inktense pencils, and used a waterbrush to fix the colours permanently. I created the background by stamping and embossing the numbers from Just Useful using white embossing powder onto a piece of Drawing Cartridge. I then blended Distress Oxide Ink over the background, and added a splatter stamp using the same colour of Archival Ink as before.

I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap piece of card and crumpled it slightly before attaching it to the card with some twine and double sided tape.

My second card was created by stamping the large Ace Card image onto a piece of Drawing Cartridge with Versafine Clair Ink. I coloured the image with pencils. I coloured a piece of glossy card with more Versafine Clair Ink and a roller, polishing the card with a piece of tissue once I had covered the card. I stamped several images from the Just Useful stamp set over the top to create a collage effect.

These stamps are just great for creating a whole range of backgrounds really quickly, and you can achieve lots of different effects as you can see by the two backgrounds that I have made here.

I will be back later in the month, thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and take care,

Judith xx