April Challenge

Hi Folks!  I hope you are all well and ready for the next Claritystamp Challenge!

This month's theme is 

MASKING!

My Design Sample for this challenge

Now this piece started out a little bit different from the finished result as you will see from the pictures that follow.  

As I mentioned, the theme is MASKING and I certainly did a bit of that!  I made use of a Clarity Square Stencil for centering my image and I used the innie part of it to cover the central area.  I used the Mask of the Large Postage Stamp underneath to keep this area clear as I had an idea rolling about in my head!

I coloured the outer background of my piece using Adirondack Ink: Caramel and  Cranberry. Applying the inks to the card with a couple of Smoothies, dabbing and rolling, overlapping and using the ink till it was no more!!.  I then spritzed  water onto my fingers and let it drip onto my work, left it for a few seconds and dabbed it dry with a clean kitchen roll.

I then replaced the Square Stencil and using the Caramel Ink I shaded in between the stencil and Stamp Mask.  After removing the Stamp Mask I stamped the owl (Black Archival) into the center and MASKED him (I love that Barbara had Masks made for her stamps) so that I could create a background for my owl. (more caramel and Torn Copy Paper for hills along with Low Tack Masking Tape to protect the outer background)

My owl was coloured using a selection of reds and orangey brown Spectrum Noir Pencils and I finished him off with a Henna ProMarker over his head, wings and body.  A quick polish with kitchen roll and he comes up a treat!  Just  pity the light was too bad to show the shine.

Now at this point I had definitely decided that I had taken a wrong turn with the colour choice for the center frame.  I originally wanted the card to look as though I had framed a stamp of an owl and then mount the piece on a canvas.  But it just wasn't working out for me!  But ever the resourceful crafter, I changed the central frame with the help of a black fineliner, ruler and a Black Sharpie!  

Then of course the central background was too pale for me so I had to play around with that. Low Tack Masking Tape around the center frame, a few Leaves and some foliage, more green (Pesto Adirondack) to the hills and of course blue to the sky. (Stonewashed Adirondack)  I used a damp paint brush to pick up some green ink from ink pad to colour the foliage.  Out came the black Sharpie and Ruler to add a Line around the whole piece.  Then using Strong Double Sided Tape I attached it to an 8 x 8 Card Blank.

Much happier with this!

So now it is up to you to get your thinking caps on and your MASKING Techniques on the go.

As usual you will find the RULES of the Challenge on the Claritystamp Challenge Website (they are very simple).  I look forward to seeing all your lovely creations and wish all who take part the very best of luck.

Happy Crafting!

Hugs

Emma x

All Stamps, Stencils and Masks used to make this card can be sourced from Claritystamp Ltd

To enter the Clarity Challenge, to see the Rules and of course to see the wonderful samples from the rest of the ladies on the design team click here: CHALLENGE 38 Masking

Trees!!!

Hi Folks!  I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas.  A quick post from me today (that's if blogger lets me, it has been freezing up on me for days).

This is a picture that I wanted to show you all but couldn't until now as it was a Christmas gift for someone.  With this piece I have used the Gelli Plate to make a reflection...so much easier using the Gelli Plate for this!

I used a sheet of Super smooth Card from Clarity Stamp (for use with the large Gelli Plate).  It is brilliant for stamping and shading.

I stamped my Trees and the Deer onto the Gelli Plate which I had mounted onto the Clarity Mega Mount (fabulous thing). I then used the Gelli Plate like a stamp and stamped onto my card.  I then turned my image around and then this time stamped my Trees and Deer directly onto the card.

I added some 'banking' along the waters edge using my mini Fern and one of the mini Leaves from a remountable set.

I covered the 'land' with copy paper and went to work on the water.  This was done using a Brayer, scrunched up copy paper, two shades of Memento Ink: Nautical Blue and Summer Sky.  The same colours were used with the Brayer (minus the copy paper) for the sky.   I used the Yellow ink from a Big n Juicy Pad - Soothing Sunset with a Stencil Brush. The deer are stamped in Adirondack Black, the Trees and Foliage are stamped in Memento - Olive Grove.  I drew in the small birds in flight with a Black Micron Pen.

I added more foliage to the top and bottom of the picture using Olive Grove again and then with a make-up sponge I added a bit more shading using Memento - Pistachio.

I decided at the last minute to add a bit more shading and foliage to the waters edge with the mini remountable leaf before framing.

All the products that I have used to create this picture, from the Stamps, Card, tools to ink have all been supplied by Clarity Stamp.  If anyone wishes details for anything I have used, leave a comment and I will forward you the details. I usually do a link for each product but as blogger is playing up and it has taken me nearly a week to get this posted I just wanted to keep going before it stalled on me again...apologies!

I hope you like it.  

I am entering this picture into the Clarity Stamp Challenge for December as the challenge is Trees.

Good luck to everyone in all their challenges and I hope that you all have a wonderful 2015.

Hugs to all

Emma xx

New Year, New Beginning!

Hi Folks!  As the title says New Year, New Beginning and it is for me!  I will end this month in a New Home with a New Craft Room and now a friend has just had a New Baby!

My card is for the New Baby and I will be entering this card into the Clarity Stamp Challenge which the theme this month is NEW.  And here is the finished card. (my ramblings on how I made it will come after the main picture)

Step one was of course to figure out what I wanted to do and then gather all my bits together.  I got my piece of Clarity Coated Card and dusted it with Talcum Powder.  Stamped the ' it's a boy' onto the card using Memento Paris Dusk ink and sprinkled Clear Embossing Powder and of course then heated this from underneath.  I also made a mask from a Post-it Note for this stamp.

I then stamped my Blue Leafy Swirl in Paris Dusk and gave it the same treatment as the sentiment.  I stamped the Swirl again in Memento Summer Sky.

You will have noticed (if you are paying attention) that the embossing is not completely covering the swirl and the sentiment.  The reason? Although ink stays wet longer on Coated Card stock, you really need to use an embossing ink.  But as I was going for the effect of dew drops on fresh leaves this suited me fine.  I did blow quite a bit of the embossing powder away before heat setting it.

I took a tree from the set of 3 repositional trees and stamped a ridge line just with the very tip of the tall thin one in Memento Pistachio.  I tore a piece of copy paper to make my hills using Pistachio again.  I used the Lone Pine stamp from the ATC starter set, either side of the picture and my Mini Spruce Tree for the rest. I took the long stamp from the Trees and their Mantles, fixed it to my ruler and stamped along the bottom.  I then added a bit more shading to the foreground with Memento Olive.



I took a Blue Distress Marker to the edge of my picture and then matted this onto White Super Smooth paper.  Then matted this onto a textured Blue Card which I then matted onto a White Base card.  I used my Perfect Layers Rulers that I got from Joanna Sheen (and they are perfect) to do my layers.

The final stages were to form my Banner.  I used 15 Pricing  Labels (I know, I know...I could have used my small tag stamps from Clarity Stamp but I was in a rush and didn't have time to cut them out.  They stamp out the same size as these by the way).

I Stamped my letters using the Letterbox Set  from In the Classroom with Barbara Gray.  I then alternated the shading on each one. Pistachio and Paris Dusk.  I then fixed them onto my card using small Foam Pads and Double Sided  Tape, alternating which tag got raised and which tag lay flat.  I then threaded the Blue Striped Twine through each tag and left the ends hanging...I was going to have stamped a Swallow to hold the twine at each end but I hadn't left myself much room, next time!

Oh! and why a Blue Leafy Swirl?  Everyone knows that boys are found under Blue Bushes and girls are found under Pink Bushes!!!!!

Happy crafting everyone!

xxx

Christmas cards in January!

Hi Folks!  Well I am the first to complain about early christmas decorations going up in towns...the years pass by quick enough without rushing the end of the year in!  But I have to admit that because of ill health I did get a bit behind in my orders for christmas cards.  So my first resolution for the new year....yes you have guessed it....make my cards earlier.  To give me some incentive to keep that resolution I am going to try to enter at least two Christmas Cards a month into crafty hazelnuts christmas challenge 2  This is a Blog that is just for Christmas Cards and Christmas Projects.  I think it is a brilliant idea!

So for my first entry this month I have the following offering:

I began by masking of the edges of my Clarity Coated Card.  I peeled the masking tape back from the corner and using Memento Paris Dusk Ink, I stamped my Stag in the corner and then I stamped and cut out a mask for the reindeer (I did it this way round so that the ink on the Clarity Coated Card had time to dry). I covered the Body of the Reindeer and then put my masking tape back in place.

I stamped the Spruce Trees at the left of the picture then once again made a mask for them while the ink was drying, covered them up and went to work on the treeline at the top.  All I have done here is to stamp the Forest Ridge along the top.  I then took my small Lone Spruce  and stamped just the top part of the stamp (blotting it first onto copy paper) to give the impression of more trees in the distance.  

I then added a moon mask to the treeline.  Using Memento Summer Sky Ink and Ink Duster, I shaded along the tops of the trees.  I then used the Paris Dusk and a makeup sponge to do a bit more shading in the sky. I drew in two birds in the distance to give the picture a bit more perspective.

I stamped two of the reindeers from the Winter Wonderland Set and then I stamped in the tips of my small Fern and some leaves from the set that goes with the Naked trees of Africa.  Using torn copy paper and makeup sponge I shaded under the tree ridge, the deer, and the plants.

I then removed all the masks, polished up the image with tissue paper and mounted the whole picture onto white card.

Here is  pic of all the items used.  All the stamps used are Clarity Stamps (my favourite) and can be found by following the links.

Happy Crafting!

So as I said at the beginning of this post, I am entering it into the following challenges:

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk/

Anniversary Card

Hi folks!  For this card I used  a Clarity Stamp that I am quite fond of (I still have to find out her name) and a Clarity Stamp Leafy Swirl stamp.

Using Archival Coffee ink I stamped up the central image, made a mask and covered the lady.  I then stamped the Swirly leaf around the edge.  I used a piece of torn copy paper to give the impression of the lady sitting in the foreground.

I removed the mask and using a makeup sponge put in a bit more shading.  I used Blush Pro Marker for the flesh.

I then cut out a shape (fancy tag from spellbinders) and using a Happy Anniversary stamp form my stash I stamped the tag using the Archival Coffee ink and gave that a bit of shading around the edge.

I mounted the picture using my perfect layers ruler on a dark brown (nearly black) card which I then mounted onto white card.  I mounted the tag using foam tape and then I made an envelope and embellished it using 2nd generation ink (Coffee Archival) and the leafy swirl stamp.

The insert was made using super smooth paper and stamping the Clarity Stamp verse Loved you Yesterday... (its also on the front of the card that I entered in to the clarity stamp challenge shown HERE)

p.s.  I forgot to say that I used Clarity Paper to do the actual stamping on....silly me!

Get Well Card #1

Hello Folks.  Hope you have all had a good crafting week.  I know I have.  My five minutes of fame went live today on Clarity Stamp Challenge Blog.  So thank you to the team at Clarity Stamp Blog for choosing my entry to be in the top 5 favourite for "its all in the sentiment" Challenge. 

So on with today's card...

I made this card using a combination of Clarity Stamps, Car Boot and ebay purchase.  (details at end of Blog).
My colours were achieved by using Memento Teal Zeal Ink Pad, Memento Teal Zeal Dual Marker, Brayer, Splodge Mat and Makeup Sponge.

I Started by making Masks for the Teddy, Moon and Fence. I then stamped the Teddy on to Theuva Card and covered with mask. Next I stamped the Fence in place - slightly higher than Teddy's feet, I then stamped the Fern in place in front of the fence.

I stamped the Foliage Branch around the top part of the card and then the Flying Birds.  I then put the Moon Mask and Fence Mask in Place

Timepiece Birthday card

This Birthday Card was made for my husbands birthday today. He likes Fob Watches so the stamps that I used were ideal.  (both were free gifts from a craft mag) I also used a Frame stamp that I picked up at a car boot sale a few years back.

 

To make the frame I used Theuva Card from Clarity Stamp, two post-it notes, glaze, Black Archival ink and a Happy Birthday stamp.  I stamped the frame onto the post-it notes then cut one around the inside edge (Mask 1) and the other around the outside edge (Mask 2)  I Stamped the Happy Birthday onto Theuva Card then I stamped the Frame around this.  I covered the inside with Mask 1. I then dabbed around the edge of the frame with Old Paper Distress Ink using a makeup sponge. I removed the mask and used what ink was left on the sponge to lightly distress the inside panel of the frame.  After this I cut around the frame then I glazed the edge and left it to dry.





Timepiece by Emma Burns

 Using more Theuva Card, I taped up the edges with stencil tape, stamped the frame and then covered it with mask 2.  Following this, I randomly stamped the fob watches with Black archival Ink. Making use of my splodge mat, brayer and Antique Linen Distress Ink I took the whiteness away from the card and then used a makeup sponge to make it more distressed in the corners and edges.  I used Old Paper Distress Ink and a makeup sponge to create a shadow around the frame by dabbing my sponge into the ink, dabbing the excess off on copy paper then dabbing along the edge of the covered frame.