Travel

Hi Folks!  Hope you have all had a wonderful week!  I have been busy finishing off the orders for Christmas cards, hopefully now I can get on with my own Christmas cards and also the ones my husband needs for his work!  But I was required to take a little break from them as I had a friend who required a birthday card for a cyclist...

I decided to use my mini cyclist as I have two sizes of this stamp.  It is from Clarity Stamp (in fact so are the trees)  I will list them all at the end.

I stamped the cyclists in Archival - Potting Soil and used my ProMarkers to colour them in a bit (yeah  I actually got some of the tips to work) I then made some masks with Post-it Notes and covered the boys up.

I used Adirondack - Meadow to stamp the trees, shade all the little lumps and bumps in the ground (always was bumpy when I cycled)  I also added a bit of the Potting Soil too.  I used a make-up sponge for the bumps and then I used a Stencil Brush with Memento - Summer Sky for the sky!

I drew a fine line with a ProMarker around the edge of the image  and then trimmed it back a bit before mounting onto a blank card with double sided tape.

This reminds me of when my husband Alex used to take the Kids out when they were younger!

So all that is left is to add the Happy Birthday tag and it will be ready  to go.

Stamps used:
Cyclist
Forest Ridge
Tree   used at front and for foliage
Tree   used among the cyclists

I am off for a cuppa now but I will submit this into the Clarity Stamp Challenge for November which is Travel.  It is the preferred method  of transport for our family!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Emma x

http://claritystampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/challenge-21.html

Fly Away Dreams

Hi Folks!  Yesterday Barbara Gray posted on her Blog about a lovely new Leafy Stencil and it reminded me that I hadn't posted about a card that I had made a few weeks ago for a young chap that was moving on to pastures new.  So I thought that I had better get on and do it before I forget again!!

So Blue for a boy ... I stamped the boy with the birds in Archival - Cornflower Blue on Clarity Coated A5 Card.  Then sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat set from underneath.  I had used a spellbinders die to cut out the shape first.

Next step was to put in a moon mask and then create some sky and a bit of a landscape with the copy paper.  Brayer used for the Sky and Make-up sponges for the landscape shading.  Added a flock of birds and then I set about adding the lovely  Maple Leaf and did a bit of secondary stamping.  I love the effect the wet ink has on this type of card with the leaves...you get shading without even trying!  I then stamped the sentiment and embossed it as with the boy.

Now just a little reminder when using coated card stock to let your ink dry  completely unless you are embossing it as the ink will stay wet for a while...you can hurry it along a bit by using your heat gun.  And if you are using embossing powders, brush a bit of talcum powder over your work first...great for getting rid of static!

This was actually a last minute card and I was not quite sure of where I was heading.  But mounting this piece on a blank card just didn't look right so I decided to add a rectangular backing sheet. I once again used the Maple Leaf stamp on Theuva Card to create a border and then attached it together with double sided tape and then mounted it onto a blank white card.

I also stamped the Maple Leaf inside the card too but unfortunately I can't let you see it as it was immediately taken from me and promptly some very rude words were written in it. ( all in jest I am told )

I love using just one colour of ink and achieving as many shades as possible out of it.  The shading is dependant on which type of card or paper you use too.  Coated Card will give you a darker / stronger image, whereas Plain card or Theuva Card will give you a softer image.

The young chap loved his card and confessed that he thought he would end up with a very bright pink girly card...I told him I had that one in reserve!

Happy Crafting everyone !

Emma x

Make a Wish

Hi Folks!  I have a lovely little card for you today...it took me a while (well all day yesterday as my ultra fine nibs on my ProMarkers wouldn't work...they all seemed to have dried up)

So for this 8 x 8 card I was asked to use an image of a Fairy, I chose one from the Papermania Enchanted range. I knew that she was going to sit nicely into the Clarity Stamp Naked Tree Stencil.
I stamped her using Archival - Potting Soil. I made a mask for her using a Post-it note. which I then put in place.

I attached my Stencil onto Theuva Card.  As usual my copy paper torn for hills I laid this over the stencil and using Clarity Stencil Brushes I blended in  Memento - Summer Sky and Distress Ink - Stormy Sky.  I then took a make-up sponge and brought in the ink laying on the stencil to make it darker at the edges.  I then proceed to colour in the background in my usual manner with the copy paper this time using just the make-up sponges.  I started with Distress Ink - Shabby Shutters, then Bundled Sage then I lightly added some Adirondack - Meadow.  I then removed the stencil.

I took a Promarker - Caramel (trying to use my ultra fine nib) to draw along the edges of the white tree and then coloured it in.  I then took one of the remountable leaves, Bundled Sage and Adirondack Meadow and added them to the tree.  

I must point out at this stage that I had made a paper mask of the stencil so that I could protect the outer area (keeping the leaves only in the circle.)

I removed the mask from the Fairy and set about her with my ProMarkers (Nibs still not working but I tried to use them as best I could...angry now and hands shaking).  Inks used  Plum, Moss Green, Blush and Putty.   So I spent the next hour going through all my nibs seeing which worked and which did not...not happy as selling point that they won't dry out, such a shame as they are really really great for detail work.

So back to the card...I put in some foliage using some of the remountable leaves and some shading. Moss Green ProMarker around the circle.  A little bit of shading under the Fairy's foot. I also put some foliage around the outer white circle allowing the foliage this time to creep into the main image

I added Make A Wish in Adirondack Wild Plum 

I took Adirondack Meadow around the edge of my card once I had trimmed it.  I layered this onto another piece of white card and then a lovely green dotty paper.  All perfectly spaced due to the Perfect Layers rulers and attached to an 8 x 8 card.  

Finished card

I am quite happy with the result, I hope you like it too.  I really wanted to show this one off to show that you don't have to just use stencil paste and that you can change the stencil by simply  stamping some leaves.


Hugs to all.

Emma xx

Christmas Cards with Clarity Stamp Club November Stamp

Hi Folks!  Just thought that I would share a couple of Christmas cards that I have made with the New Designs Clarity Stamp Club members stamp that came on Friday. (can't link it for you as yet as it is not available on the Clarity web site until next month) I had a little play as soon as I got the stamp, unfortunately I then had a load of visitors (welcome) and I had only managed to get two cards done. Since then I have been inundated with more mundane things like housework and family lol.

So the first card I did was a play on the sample sheet that came with the stamp.  I used a Clarity Stencil Winter Tree and obviously the Car Stamp, Theuva Card which I had cut to a square.  I had my stash of torn copy paper at the ready along with a makeup sponge, Adirondack Ink: Eggplant, a mask for the car and the headlamp ( post it notes), glue pen, Glamour Dust Glitter and a Stencil Brush

I stamped the car first, placed my masks and then fixed the stencil in place. Using the torn copy paper I shaded in the sky and very lightly shaded the edges of the tree. I then shaded in the tyre tracks forming a bend with the copy paper.
I used a Stencil Brush to lightly go around the inside edge of the stencil, just picking up the ink that was laying on it from doing the sky.
I used my glue pen to and some Glamour Dust to add starlight to the sky and to put some snow on the tree. Then before mounting onto white card I gave a little bit of shading around the edge of the image.
So just before taking this photo on Friday morning one of the lights in my craft room decided to blow so there is a bit more shadow from me that I would have liked to avoid but it was not to be...hey ho!

So the next card that I managed to make I decided to make a circular stencil from Stencil Plastic as I didn't have one.
You need to be patient and have a steady hand this out with a craft knife...don't think I did too badly!

So once again using the Adirondack Ink: Eggplant, Lone Spruce, Forest Ridge, Club Stamp and the small Star. Embossing Ink and Clear Embossing Powder.  Satin Card, Glue Pen, White Flocking.  Clarity Stamp Blending Mat
White Blank Square Card, double sided tape, all from my stash.








So from the images below you can see the stages that I followed.  That Ink on my stencil came in handy!

After doing all the stamping I added a little mask for the headlamp again and added very light shading to show it up  (albeit not very well in this photo) I added some shading for the roadway using my ClarityStamp Blending mat. 

My next step was to cover my image with the INNIE of my stencil to protect it.  I used a makeup sponge to colour the outside of the circle...I love colouring Satin Card as the ink spreads and blends really well and your image still has a sheen when dry.  Now when it came to shading the roadway that is out off the stencil I once again used the edge of the blending mat.

I removed the Innie of the stencil and then stamped the Lone Spruce.  I then used my glue pen to make falling snow around the outside of the circle and I added  snow to the trees with the white flocking.  Then all that was left was to go around the outside edge of the whole image with my ink pad and mount it onto a blank card.  

Can you spot the light from the headlamp?

 I love being a member of the Clarity Stamp Club that much that I didn't hesitate to join the Stencil Club when they started it this year....I'm a Gold Member!  That means that I get a free stencil and free stamp each month along with design sheets for each one, a newsletter written by Barbara Gray, half price members sale, 10 per cent discount and free postage on purchases over £10.00   Not bad at all!

But what I love most about Clarity Stamp is that their product shows quality!  You tell me what other stamp out there on the market that you can take an Iron to  when using fusible fibres and it doesn't melt the stamp.  The Stencils can go through an embossing machine and they don't crack.  And last but not least...Barbara Gray, The Design Team and the Team at Clarity Stamp HQ are all so very generous with their time, help and advice.

So what's next....a little play with the new stencil!


Happy Crafting everyone.

Hugs

Emma xx