Butterflies, bees and bugs...part 1

Hello

I've been prepping some samples for a card making evening at a local museum. I've run two or three evenings a year there for quite a while now and we've built up a little crafting group. One or two were already crafters when they started but most were complete beginners. Each time we meet I try to introduce a new technique or new media.

This time I'm going for simple techniques with lots of scope for individual creativity. 

The first technique will be spotlight stamping...

This one also fits the bill for Isa.C Art&Craft #tagalongxmas05 challenge to use red and grey and a snowflake cluster on a Christmas card. The butterfly stamp is by Chloe's Creative Cards and was stamped in the centre of the card in grey, as well as on a separate peice of card in red, which was then die cut and overlaid. A little bit of shading was added with ProMarkers and the snowflakes and sentiment added in Distress Ink. There's a little bit of glitter too!

 

 

The second one was also pretty easy with the butterflies stamped first in pink direct onto the card, followed by the smaller beasties in bright colours. The butterflies were also stamped three times in black on card and die cut with different sized circles, which were overlaid so the images match up.

For the third one I stamped the butterfly directly on the card blank, again on a separate piece of card and again on a sticky note. The butterfly on the sticky note was cut out and used to mask the one on the card while I added some green ink through a stencil. This meant that the wings remained white once the sticky note was removed. Some splatter and spodges were stamped on in black. The separate card was die cut into a circle and the butterfly coloured in, before overlaying it on the card so it aligned with the one below.

One technique which can be colourful or monochrome and suit cards for all occasions.

Hope they like it! Thank you for stopping by xxx

June Tagalong

Hello

This month the tagalong challenge set by Isa is to use paper strips or washi. I've been looking forward to using the 'Cats on Books' Katzelkraft stamp set designed by a Ukrainian artist Liubka.

I started by swooshing the tag in Distress Oxide ink spritzed with water, before sticking on the paper strips. I added stencilling with a new GiogioCraft book themed stencil, and stamped the leaves.

The cat was stamped, coloured and cut out of card and also stamped on the tag in order to get the whiskers. To finish off a border and a few flowers were added.

I had a request for a card for a book lover and used the same stamp with a different GiogioCraft stencil.

I'm looking forward to playing with the rest of the set.

Thank you for taking the time to pop by. Have a lovely week xxx

Happiness

Hello

As we start to get into summer I have a few weddings coming up and I thought the Klimt inspired stencil from GiogioCraft would be perfect.

 I used glitter paste through the stencil and when it was totally dry masked it off and added more stamping and stencilling in the background.

I like to give the sense of depth even on flat cards, so I added some shading in pencil and Promarker.

The paste is very pretty when it catches the light.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day xx

Water

Hello

A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend with a friend for our annual painting treat to ourselves. For a few years now we've spent a day with artist Jo Sheppard gleaning tips and techniques to improve our acrylic painting. In the past we have covered mixed media techniques, abstract landscapes and trees. This year we were having a go at water. 

Jo always gets us started with colour mixing. We then used reference photos that Jo had taken to have a go at studies, with about 90 minutes for each one. 

My challenge to myself was to loosen up and try and use a bigger brush or a palette knife.

 

 

I could carry on tweaking but overall I was pleased how they ended up. Think I like the middle one best, which is weird when turquoise is my favourite colour and that's the least natural of the three. I definitely learnt a lot and am already looking forward to our painting day next year.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely creative week xx

Completely cracked

Hello

If you've stopped by before, you'll know that this year I've been joining in with challenges set by Isa. This month the tag challenge is on the theme of crackle. I think I should have prepped a bit earlier for the FB live, as some of my options had dried out and one said takes three days to dry. In the end I tried to rehydrate the DecoArt crackle paste by poking holes in it with a pokey tool and spritizing it with water.

I spread it on a tag already primed with white paint. It didn't turn out too badly, although it was a bit brittle and delicate. I sprinkled and spritzed Brusho to build up the background, with a little stamping here and there, before adding the focal images and text.

  

I added some Crackle Accents to the bulb, but that was also a bit dried up and tacky. You can just about see some very fine crackle.

This was my first opportunity to use the new Katzelkraft stamps which you'll definitely be seeing again.

Thank you for taking the time to look. Have a wonderful day xxx

African beauty

Hi there

Today I'm sharing a card using the GiogioCraft African beauty and tribal frenzy stencils. I've had them a few months but not had a chance to play yet.

I've used DecoArt and PaperArtsy chalk finish paints on bronze paper, with some Posca paint pen dots.

Thank you for taking time to look. Have a lovely week xxx

Art journal - April

Hello

Today I'm sharing an art journal spread for a #tagalongaj challenge  If you want to know more you can see the details at Isa.C Art&Craft. The theme for this month is black and white flowers.

I started with Brusho on wet watercolour paper.

 

 

 Next some stamping from PaperArtsy sets ETS06 and ETS09, with some embossed in white.

I added a little colour to the ovals with Posca paint pens and stencilled the honeycomb using a GiogioCraft stencil.

 

I stamped and embossed flowers from the stamp sets, cut them out and added them to the pages. I added a little stamped script in a few places.

 

A few bees from a Sentimentally Yours stamp set finished it off.

The bees are starting to visit the pots on my balcony as the weather warms up. Just waiting for the swifts to arrive now.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely week.