Nature

Hi Folks!  Hope you are all having a lovely Saturday!  I have been a bit busy this past week as my oldest daughter Carrie came for a visit.  She actually cycled from the East Coast right through to the West Coast last weekend.  She made amazing time and it was quite an acheivement for her.  Very proud of you Carrie x  In honour of her taking the route that she did (not a dedicated cycle route) and a more hilly one at that, I have made a little landscape for her.

Unfortunately Carrie didn't get to see any deer on this trip but hopefully she can get to see some next time she is through for a visit. She told me that she was stunned by the scenery that she cycled through on her way to see us and quite often she just had to stop and stare.

So I thought that the Life Verse I have used is very apt for her.  I started with a piece of A5 Theuva Card and I used Memento - Olive Grove to stamp this into position first.  I used torn copy paper, makeup sponge and once again Olive Grove ink to create the landscape. I then stamped the Fawn and the Deerscape in Archival - Ginger.  I went back to the Olive Grove for the rest of the stamping

I then used a collection of Remountable Leaves to create plants and foliage.  I also used a Pointilism stamp to give a bit more texture to the foreground and the brows of the hills. I added some trees in the background using a bit of the Pine Forest stamp and also a single small Spruce Tree with Northern Pine Ink with a little bit of secondary stamping going on too.

Close-up of the 'shrubbery' created using the Leaves set and the Pointilism Stamp.

I used the large Birch Leave and Memento - Northern Pine to stamp around the top and sides.  But before doing that I took one of my Clarity Stencil Brushes, Whispers - Sunshine and circled in a setting sun.  I then used  a Big n Juicy - Soothing Sunset ink pad, covered my hills with copy paper and took the stencil brush along the length of the art work starting with the yellow edge.  I changed brushes and added some of the darker pink and then again I used the darkest shade almost a purple.  I finished the sky by adding in a bit more darkness with Memento - Paris Dusk.  I then added the Birds in flight.

At this point I felt that the foreground was a bit too light for a setting sun so I decided to add a bit more shading using a large Clarity Stencil Brush and Memento - Northern Pine and then brushed this lightly all over the greenery until I was satisfied.

I trimmed my artwork and edged it with a black Sharpie pen.  This will be mounted onto a bright white background and then framed.  Now I had better get back into my craft room and tidy up my mess!

I hope you like it.  I have decided that this will also be my entry for Clarity Stamp Challenge for this month, which just happens to be Nature...well fancy that!

Happy Crafting everyone!

Hugs

Emma


http://claritystampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/challenge-19.html

Butterflies and Flowers in Pink

Hi Folks!  Well the weather seems to be picking up a bit here in South Ayrshire so I thought that I would get my Post done before I get lost in the sunshine.  Baby Tortoises have been bathed and fed and housework done too, so I do not feel that guilty for doing nothing for the rest of the day but gardening!

A lot of Crafters are off to the crafting event at the Ally Pally (wish I was there too but its at the other end of the country...have a great day everyone).  In fact I hope that anyone attending any craft event this weekend find what they want and have a great time.

I have a little pink number to share with you all today, I hope you like it.

I chose some Clarity Stamp Stamps to make the image for this Card.  I have only used one ink pad - Archival Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson.
Large Butterfly
Small Butterfly
Grasses 2
Grasses 3
Floral Crook
Best Wishes (from line sentiment set 1)
Floral Branch (from lesson 18 set) (forgot to put in photo)
A5Theuva Card 
Clarity Stencil Brush 
Masking Tape
Double sided Tape
8 x 8 inch blank card and envelope
Printable Acetate
Post-it notes and Decoupage Scissors

So to begin with I cut my Theuva Card into a square and covered up the edges using masking tape...tip!  rub some moisturiser on the inner part of your arms and then dab on your masking tape to de-tack it...works a treat!




I stamped the Floral Crook and covered the leaves and flowers with masks (post-it note sticky end) I then lightly stamped the Large Butterfly randomly around the card I removed the masks and then stamped in the Grasses and the Floral Branch.  Next I shaded around the edges of the image using my Clarity Stencil Brush.

I then Stamped the Large Butterfly onto a piece of Printable Acetate and left this to dry before cutting it out.  I removed the masking tape and took the edge of my ink pad around the edges of the image and mounted this onto my 8 x 8 Card. I then mounted the Acetate Butterfly using a clear silicon glue

I stamped the Best Wishes Line Stamp onto the front of the card and then I decorated the insert with lightly stamped Small Butterfly and the Best Wishes line stamp and attached this to the card with double sided tape. 

This is the finished card and I am glad to say that it was well received!

Happy Crafting everyone!

Emma xx

Photo to Canvas

Hi Folks!

I thought that I would share a card that I did for my son's birthday this week.  He is an avid outdoorsman and he loves to take photographs of all the beautiful scenery wherever he goes.  Earlier this year he went on a camping trip up to Stirling and he took some lovely pictures.  I decided that I would take one of his photos and make it into a card for him.
I loved the lighting and the view in this photo and I decided that I would put it onto canvas and then mount that onto a card.

Stirling Castle By George R Summers 2014

I had fun tearing up copy paper to make masks for the various hills.  I used various inks from Distress - chipped sapphire to memento - summer sky to achieve the shading.  Being on canvas I couldn't get the shine of the light that the original photo has but all in all I am quite happy with it...more to the point my son recognised his photo right away so I was not that far of it.

I quite liked doing this and I will have to look out some more photographs to copy.

Happy crafting everyone.


Emma x

Daydreamer Birthday Reflection

Hi Folks!  I have a birthday card for a man to share with you today.  I have used some old techniques to create this card along with a new one (to me that is).  So lets get down to it!

I started by making my own ink pad.  (old technique) I stamped the Daydreamer in Black Archival Ink onto ranger Felt Pad.  I then painted over the image with Rainbow Inks. (Cranberry, Bottle, Butterscotch, eggplant)  (store in a snap and seal bag).  I then stamped my Daydreamer Stamp onto the pad and stamped this onto my Gelli Plate. I placed my Clarity Coated Card onto the Plate and took a print. (new technique to me). I then turned my card around and re-stamped my Daydreamer onto the pad and then onto the Clarity card...thus getting a reflection!

So out came the copy paper to cover the top half.  I used my brayer, scrunched up copy paper, Adirondack Stream and Eggplant along with a blending mat to create the water.  I also used the outer mask of the large moon from Claity Stamp and coloured the inside of this using a large Stencil Brush and Whispers Staw Mat and Sunshine inks.

I then covered the water over and worked on the sky.  I put the Inner Moon Mask on only AFTER putting in my clouds using Clear Versamark and Cotton Wool (very old technique).  I then used the Brayer again to colour the sky with Memento - Summer Sky and Distress - Stormy Sky ink pads. I then placed the outer mask of the Moon onto the image BEFORE removing the inner mask.  I then repeated what I did with the stencil Brush and inks.  I removed the mask and then took the Straw Mat blended with the Sunshine ink and brushed along the full horizon.  I removed all the masking tape and then got out my kitchen roll and gave the whole image a polish.

Now for some reason my inks had bled onto the tiny white border that I had created so I had to come up with a solution to fix this!  I tried using a white micron pen...it bled every where (duffer),  I tried a white pencil...nah looked naff.  So in the end I went for the simplest solution, raked through my stash and found a sheet of White Peel-offs.  Sorted!!  (top tip...best way to get good corners without bumps is to cross the strips over and then take a sharp knife and using the point only press through both layers.

I coloured a piece of satin card  with Stream and Eggplant (blended on my mat) and using the Perfect Layers Rulers trimmed to fit.  This was then mounted onto a square card and the sentiment  stamped in Eggplant and coloured with the spare ink on the blending mad.

Glad to say the card was well recieved.  I know I am very happy with it.  I am really liking using the Gelli Plate for doing reflections.  Once agian I have to thank Barbara Gray for showing this technique on her blog...You should all check her daily blog, the woman is just brilliant!

Here is the finished card

                             

Happy Crafting!

Emma xx

Lavender Dream

Hi Folks!  Still got the lurgy but determined to carry on regardless!  So today I thought I would share a lovely landscape stamp used with one of my favourite techniques...Embossing!

I have chosen the Large Landscape stamp from ClarityStamp Limited and my favourite Ink  (at the moment) Archival Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender.

The other items used in making this card are:

May all your Dreams Stamp (insert)                          Stencil Tape (or masking tape)             

Dream Stamp from Lesson 10                                  Stencil Brush (large)

Large Birch Leaf Stamp                                            Copy paper 

Bare Tree  Stamp                                          

Clear Embossing Powder                                          Ruler

Heat Gun                                                                  Wet wipes

Talcum Powder                                                         8 x 8 inch Blank Card    

Soft Brush for dusting                                                Moon Mask

I Taped off the 4 edges of the Blank Card, making sure that the Stencil Tape went slightly over the edge ( To protect it from getting discoloured when using the stencil brushes). I Sprinkled Talcum Powder onto card and brushed over lightly...tapped away excess.  (this stops the embossing powder from sticking where it shouldnt ).  Then I Inked up the Landscape Stamp, centered onto the card and stamped.  I Sprinkled the embossing powder on top and then tapped off excess and then heat set from underneath.




I added a moon mask and using a ruler tore some hills in some copy paper.  I lightly brushed they sky with the lavender ink.  I took the hills out to either side of the stamped image.  I tore anothe piece of copy paper but more of a straight line and used this piece to follow the lines for the horizon within the stamp.


 I put a bit more shading in on the outside of the image using my stencil brush and the torn copy paper. I then used the Large Birch Leaf stamp to stamp around the edge at the top and sides.  This gives the impression of looking through the trees. I then stamped the Bare Tree from a remountable winter set along the bottom of the image.

I then dusted once more with Talcum powder.  Stamped the word Dream and then embossed and heat set it

I stamped the sentiment onto the center of the insert and then I lightly stamped the Birch Leaf around the edges.  Once all the stamping was done I removed all the masking tape to leave a lovely white border.

Now I could have drawn a border all around the image either freehand or with a ruler but I decided just to leave it as it is. 

I hope you like it.  xx

P.S.  When using stamps and pearlescent ink it is best to give them a bit of a wipe as soon as you can. Intricate stamps can get a bit clogged up with this type of ink. With Clarity Stamps you can submerge in warm water or just give them a swipe over with a wet wipe.