The cat and the butterfly

Hello

Today I'm sharing the last one in a series of cards using gel printed backgrounds. I started by adding the foliage in Distress ink and black Archival ink.

The details were added with Posca pens and Inktense pencils.

Here are the other cards made in the same way. They look pretty all together.

Thank you for stopping by xxx

Hare you are

Hello

Today I'm sharing another card using a gel plate background. The first stage was to stamp background flowers in Distress ink and then the foreground in black Archival ink.

Then the delicate bit of adding detail with Posca paint pens, Inktense pencils and white Gelly Roll pen.

A very therapeutic way to spend a couple of hours. 

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day xx

Hare by night

 

Hello

A quick one today to share another card made with a gel plate background, with a layer of dye based ink, followed by a sprinkle of Brusho crystal pigment and a spritz with water. 

I started by stamping the hare and masking off the feet, before darkening the foreground with Distress ink to create hills. 

Then I added some plants with Distress ink for the background and black Archival ink for the foreground. The moon was masked off and Distress ink used to darken the edges. The final touches were added with white gel pen and Posca paint pen. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Wishing you a lovely day xx

Spring time

Hello

A quick share today of a couple of cards made for family. My lovely husband recently brought me back some stamps from his travels to Lille. Even though a craft shop is far from his natural habitat he always pops in and tries to find me something he thinks I won't have.

This time he spotted some cute Easter bunnies which I combined with some Katzelkraft fungi.

 

I couldn't decide which colour scheme I preferred. Which do you like?

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

 

 

A little bird told me

Hello

A super quick one today as I'm doing a mountain of die cutting for a craft class in a few weeks. 

I used a Gelli plate background with acrylic paint and stamped on the Lavinia bird, berries and hare. The berries and spatter were done with Posca pens.

 

 

Not my usual colours but I like how it turned out.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a lovely day xxx

 

Winter magic

Hello

Today I'm sharing another mixed media fantasy scene. I had every intention of capturing the process and took a first photo...

...but then forgot to take any more until the end! I started with the gate gel printed uisng a GiogioCraft stencil and a watercoloured background.

By the time I'd played around quite a bit it looked like this...

I wanted to try out some new Coliro pearlescent watercolours and a new rigger brush. I think more playing is needed!

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Hope you have a lovely week xxx

A little bird told me

Hello

Today I'm sharing another project using my new stash of Lavinia stamps. I started with stamping a scene and masking off the lamps and the hare with masking fluid.

I built up layers of watercolour and had every intention of capturing each stage, but you know what it's like when you're in the zone! Only one photo was taken. I created the moon by wrapping a paper towel around the bottom of a circular pot and pressed it into the wet paint to lift some out.

I finished off with a little over stamping in Archival ink and some highlights with Posca paint pens. I think the photo has washed out a bit of the contrast.

I enjoyed using watercolour for a change and think I might be practising a bit more!

Thank you for stopping by. I do appreciate your comments.

Magic and wonder

Hello

A quick post today as I'm still trying to get out of holiday mode and be a bit organised. I was extremely lucky to have a wonderful stash of the recent Lavinia stamps for Christmas. We decided to see the new year in quietly at home and I thought what better way than to start the year creating. This is what I was doing at the stroke of midnight...

I'm looking forward to the return of sunshine. It makes crafting and photographing so much easier in natural light.

Hope your year is full of wonder and magical moments xxx

A Noof Christmas

Hello

I had a lot of fun making today's card using Noof the cat from Lavinia. It involved some masking and some careful positioning.

First I stamped the hat on the card, and also made a mask by stamping and cutting it out of copy paper. I find copy paper is thin enough that the second stamp can press right up to the edge and not leave a white gap. I used a stamp platform as they are quite big stamps and you can always go again if you miss a bit.

With the hat masked off I stamped the cat on top...

...so that when the mask was removed the hat sits neatly between the ears.

Next I postioned the mice (it took a few practice attempts)...

...and the baubles...and drew in the strings.

I used a white pencil to add some shading to the mice and coloured the rest with alcohol markers. The last bit was some stencilling with weathered wood Distress Ink.

I don't think Noof is very impressed with the decorations! What do you imagine he's thinking?

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate all your comments.

Party mouse

Hello

Today I'm sharing a quick card inspired by @Katarinas_crafts designs for Lavinia.

I've left space for a sentiment but still can't decide if it needs one. I think there's a scope to be a lot more ambitious with these little mice when I have a bit more time.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day xx

Sail away

Hello

It seems like it's been a long winter and at last there are a few signs of spring around the corner. This week I needed a bit of relaxing time and what better than some colouring in with my new Koh-i-Noor watercolour pencils, purchased recently in Prague. 

The boat and hare are from Lavinia and the wreath is mostly using Card-io stamps with distress oxide inks. It also fits the brief for the colour challenge with Isa.C Art&Craft.

I feel more relaxed already thinking about drifting off in the moonlight.

Have a lovely weekend. Thank you for stopping by xxx

Foxy fun

Hello

I'm back today with another couple of cards made with the background paper I showed here and a mixture of all sorts of stamps.

I'm enjoying these slightly magical, whimsical scenes so there may be more to come!

Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Your comments are always welcome. xx

Birthday bunnies

Hello

I'm back with a quick one using more of the background sheet from the previous post.

I've added a bit of stencilling and some pink buds with a Stabilo fineliner.

Have a lovely day xx

Gone fishing

Hello and Happy New Year

I wish you good health and happiness in 2022...and of course lots of crafty inspiration.

Christmas and New Year are always a bit hectic but I have managed a few hours to have a bit of a play in the craft room.

I've been wondering what to do with this background for a while.

 

It was made ages ago by sprinkling Cosmic Shimmer pixie powders and spritzing them with a water mister, but the colours are a bit too intense for what I usually want. I decided to wet it again and lay watercolour paper on top to lift the colour...

 

...and ended up with a bunch of new papers with more subtle colours, perfect for stamping over. I stamped the moon and masked it off, leaving a bit of a halo around it.

 

Then added a little hickory smoke distress oxide ink all over, but keeping the centre lighter, followed by blueprint sketch on the lower half. I used a waterbrush to soften the edges of the moon and allowed the colours to bleed a little. 

More stamping was added to build up a scene.

Highlights were added with white gel pen and a few darker ripples in pencil. (You can read my review of a variety of white gel pens here.)

And so the crafting year is off to a start. I've signed up to join a Mixed Media Art Summit in February and I'm looking forward to joining Isa for a monthly tagalong. I have spent my Christmas present pennies on some crafting goodies, my lovely husband has given me a two year subscription to Creative Stamping magazine and I've been given a lot of watercolour books, so watch this space!

I hope your year is off to a creative start. Thank you for stopping by xx

 

 

Light it up with a lampshade

Hello

This last week I've been chipping away at a project that I have been forced to take quite slowly. I was given a lampshade kit a while ago and it's taken me some time to decide how to decorate it.

I finally settled on a 'Lavinia' fantasy style scene and chose Inktense pencils as I thought it would look pretty when the light shone through, rather than using opaque paint. I planned it all out first to get the spacing right. You can see what it looked like flat.

Unfortunately the fabric wicked the ink in vertical lines so I had to work slowly in sections and try not to use too much water. 

I used stamps from quite a few different sets including Lavinia, Clarity, Hobby Art and ones from Creative Stamping magazine.

The colours are more muted with the light on but I think it works fairly well.

Of course now I have the old lampshade and I was thinking...what would it look like with a bit of paint on it?!

If you've had a go at decorating lampshades I'd love to hear what you used as I think I could be tempted to have another go.

Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a lovely week xxx

 

 

 

Happy 4th July

Hello
Happy 4th July to all my American friends in the UK and all of my followers in the U.S.

A good day to celebrate the things which unite us across the globe.

April brings the primrose sweet...

Hello there
The lovely mild weather we've been having where I live has brought all of the blossom out, making the trees look spectacular. It's the start of a new month which heralds the next verse of the Poem Challenge at The Craft Barn:

April bings the primrose sweet, 

Scatters daisies at our feet. 

Here's my mini canvas for April...and of course I couldn't resist getting those cute bunnies out again!

It's not too late to join in the challenge even if you can't enter into the months which have already gone. Why not have a look at the blog to see what other people have come up with for inspiration?

Bunnies by Night

It's 'silhouettes' week at The Craft Barn and today my project is featured. I've used the delightful Lavinia bunnies on a mini printers tray. For full details of how to make it and to see all of the projects this week pop over to the blog.

Tomorrow sees the start of my two week holiday and this time I have actually kept a few days completely free for some craft time. I feel like a small child on Christmas Eve! Watch this space there may be a flurry of posts...