Picture Time

Hi Folks! Perfect weather for crafting here in Scotland....yes its raining and that wasn't a hard guess.
Its going to be a busy few weeks for me so please forgive if I forget to post my blogs, I will try to remember.  I have 3 Birthday cards to do, 5 more pictures, samples to make for a company for their Christmas card selection ( could be an order in excess of 200 in it for me ) and a 70th birthday cake to decorate and two competitions to enter.

The first competition is of course for my favourite -  clarity stamp challenge which you can enter via the link:  http://claritystampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk

This months entry is all about Animals and I have decided to enter the picture that I have just finished and framed.  It features my two cats Billy and Blue doing what they love best...hassling the birds.  We have a tree right by our little pond and on a daily basis you can find one or both of the cats hiding amongst the plants and there is a couple of blackbirds that come and sit in the tree chirping away at the cats.  Thank god that my cats are not quick enough to get them but they do try!

As per the rules I have used ONLY Clarity Stamps, which I will list at the end of this blog.

I used Clarity Paper (170GSM double sided coated A4).  I cut it down to fit in the frame and then attached it to A4 copy paper (with LOW TACK Masking Tape) giving it a .5cm border.

 
I decided on Teal Zeal Memento Ink to represent my black cat Blue (so named for his blue eyes) and I chose Whispers Starry Starry Night to represent our ginger and fawn striped (with leopard spots) cat Billy (so named after a comic character...which those of a certain age will remember...Billy Bunter...and you will also know the reason why!) 

I stamped up Blue first on to my Clarity paper, then I stamped on to a bit A4 copy paper 3 times.  1 - mask for Blue, 2 - Stencil for Billy, 3 - mask for Billy.  So obviously I cut around for two masks and then cut out the cat shape to make the stencil. I then stencilled Billy using the reverse image of the stamp to put him in to the left of the picture.  Next I stamped the Hollyhocks and grasses  around the cats making sure to mask up the cats for the planting going on behind them.

Trellis Wedding Card

Hi Folks!  Its been a little while since my last blog...been ill, been busy, been to a wedding, needed to recover....and forgot to post blog...silly me!  So at the beginning of the month I received my new Clarity Stamp Stencils and Masks...really pleased with them especially as I had a wedding card to make and wasn't quite sure where I was going to go with it. 

I was informed by the bride's mother that the colour would be white and (Cadbury's) purple so I had that in hand and as soon as I saw my new stencils I knew what I wanted to do.
The Trellis Stencil measures  9 x 11 inches and was a great size for what I had come up with.

I placed the stencil over some copy paper and drew around the pattern in black pen.  This I then placed underneath 4 sheets of white vellum which I had cut to just over 4 x 8 inches and using my two needle tool I pierced around the lines.

I trimmed the vellum to 4 x 8 inches and using my parchment scissors I cut out around the shapes to make parchment trellis to add to my card.  I had decided to make a gatefold card and I used A3 White card to make an 8 x 8 inch (when folded).  I cut out two panels of super smooth white card (4 x 8 inches again) and using a purple ink pad (hobbycraft) and my favourite stamps (Clarity Stamp), I created a landscape that spread over the panels with a white border all round which I then attached a vellum trellis using foam tape.

 

Birdhouse ATC Card

Hi Folks. Hope you are all well and busy crafting away.

My latest card creation for all to see was made using the items opposite.  (I left out the Versamark pen from the photo oops!). Sea foam White Embossing Powder, Stencil Tape, Post-it note masks, Heat Gun, Ink Duster, makeup sponge, copy paper (torn in half to make hills) 3 ATC's from the set I got from Clarity Stamp  I used Pitch Black Adirondack and Archival Brilliance Pearlescent Crimson ink.


I used the complete set of stamps from Lesson 18 - Birdhouse set from Clarity Stamp (I was determined to use every stamp).

The picture is of my sample sheet for my records as the full set comes with the Bird table already mounted while the other stamps in the set are re-mountable.

I keep my Clarity Stamps on sheets of acetate once I take a sample print then store them in A4 poly pockets in a large binder

I keep all my other clear stamps in A5 pockets and binders






So what did I do.......

Clarity Stamp Challenge # 5

The challenge for July is 'Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside'. 

 

My entry is dedicated to all of you crafters who like me won't get away for a holiday this year.  I have to admit that the best time for me on holiday apart from taking a lot of photos, eating lots of food that I don't usually eat and of course the Vino! is the Sunsets. I make sure wherever I am on holiday be it in this country or abroad that I take a photo of a sunset every night.  I have seen some amazing sunsets in my time and they are just so relaxing.  So this is for YOU for when you do get one.

 

I used the Clarity Stamps opposite for the

main image combining the colours from the Big and Juicy Soothing Sunset ink pad with the Plum Archival ink pad.

 

On this occasion I started on the sunset background.  I tore a piece of copy paper lengthwise, using a ruler so that it would be rough but not hilly and placed this over my white card.  With the yellows in the large ink pad, brayer and splodge mat, I went over the area on the horizon a few times. 

 

I placed a large circle for the sun roughly in the middle of the card then I continued with the darker colours in the ink pad working down from the top to the horizon.  I then removed the sun mask and  using an ink duster and a mixture of blended Archival Plum and the yellow from the large ink pad I placed a few strokes across the sun to give it a bit more atmosphere.

I then covered up the sky and worked on the sea with my brayer and the Plum Archival ink.  Next I stamped the birdcages then the palm leaves.

Using my bigshot and spellbinder label dies I cut out two labels and gave them a two-tone look to go with the sunset.  I stamped the Happy Holidays  from Clarity Stamp Happy word set onto the labels.  I then cut two small pieces of burgundy satin ribbon through opposite holes in the labels before attaching to the card.

I made a backing paper using the same colours as before but this time over stamping with the small ocean swirl stamp

Silly me forgot to take a photo of this before I put it all together with double sided tape.

 

 

More Embellishments in Metal





These are just a selection of Metal (Foil) Embellishments that I will be using on my Christmas cards this year.

 

The leaves are great for adding behind any kind of flower and the thicker the foil the better they will stand up to shaping and of course postage.

 

I have a good collection of them now in metal and also in various colours of vellum (to make them look even more delicate.)  So glad I have a supply of little bags to keep them all organised.

This Fairy has very delicate wings and the Die comes with another piece so that you can cut out just the shape of the main wing and attach it to the back.  This of course can be anything from card to vellum, plain or patterned.

 

 

 

 

These are just two of the scrolls that I will be using also.  I have them in metal, card, acetate and this year I am going to try to shrink some of them (the one in black is shrink plastic)  I think I may have to do this one in the oven....will let you know how it turns out.

Finished Landscape



 Hi Folks!  So here is the latest landscape in inks from me.  This one is on Canvas and it is all done with stamping.  More specifically Clarity Stamps. 

Handmade By Emma Burns

I have only used two inks and my ink duster to achieve the shading that I wanted along with the help of copy paper to make hills.  I also used my splodge mat to blend the black archival and the blue distress ink to give a more distressed feel to the sky.
I am pleased with the effect on the canvas paper as from a distance it looks like snowfall especially on the larger trees to the front. 
The canvas measures 35 x 20 cm



Busy Busy, Craft! Craft! Craft!

Hello folks, Once again it has been a bit quiet from me on the blog front...I have been checking in on you all and you seem to be very busy too but still have time (or remember to post).  There is so much to do it seems.  What with people going to crafty get-togethers (not jealous you lot with Clarity Stamp I'm not), lots of Christmas cards already done and you have all sorts of projects on the go and me what have I been doing.....................

I started on my Christmas Card Orders and then got side-tracked by an order for Stencils, then it was Key Rings and then I finished a piece of artwork and was asked to do another then I remembered that I had promised myself that I would get my competition card for Clarity Stamp in early and I have a Birthday Card to do for this week.  So before I get any further I'd better post some photos to make this blog a bit more interesting................

Lets start with Snowflakes.  These are all cut out from Parchment and I will use them to add to my Christmas cards.  I have used them before and are very quick to do...I've got about 50 done now, I can sit comfortably in my chair with my feet up doing the piercing and the cutting. I usually layer them on little squares and put them on DL cards...usually with a metallic charm. As for the Christmas tree, that was done using an embossing board and then piercing all around and then cutting out with parchment scissors.  It looks even more delicate when all the pale parchment is gone but you have to lose the dots.  The blue snowflake is from a stamp that I have and I just stamped it in black on a bit copy paper, taped my Parchment to it, then traced over it with my ball tool, pierced the inside and the outside edges and cut out with parchment scissors.

I have also in the past made myself some stamps to be used at Christmas, I am so glad they worked out as they were a bit fiddly to do but worth is as I can now have a die cut and a stamped image on the same card if I want.

I have also been cutting out metal embellishments for various card projects but I will post photos of them in the next blog.  If anyone out there is interested in how the stamps were made (if they don't already know) give me a shout and I will get a post done for them.  Happy crafting Everyone!

Congratulations

Congratulations to the winner of the Clarity Stamp Challenge Blog (MR & MRS )
Card No. 15 by Elaine Shelley. 

The Top 5 Favourites which were chosen by the Clarity  Stamp Design Team were as follows:  No. 13 Dawn Lawson, No. 26 Julie Dunn, No 44 Doreen Sympson, No. 50 Carol Hansen and No. 52 Maggie Johnson.

Well done to you ladies, look forward to reading about you all over the coming month.

If anyone reading this blog would like to enter the competition, the details and rules can be found following this link http://claritystampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy crafting everyone

Clarity Stamp Challenge 4

Hi folks, cutting it fine for the entry to the Clarity Stamp Challenge blog (May - Mr & Mrs).  I thought that I had already posted it but oops! I hadn't.  I have been busy doing some furniture renovation and have got a bit carried away with it, I have one piece left to do but I thought I had better get this blog finished first. 

So the challenge this month is for Weddings and Anniversaries.  I have made an Anniversary card to give to my husband later in the year (this is the earliest I have made one for him, I am usually finishing it off the night before).

The picture that I have taken of the card shows it much lighter than it actually is and it does not show up the shimmer from the ink, so apologies.

I decided on the Love Birds stamp (no. 80) that I got from Clarity Stamp New Design Club this month (we in the club get a free stamp each month before it goes on sale on Clarity Stamp site) along with the Love You  (no.60) NDC69-F  as my focal point. 

I used the Foliage Branch from the English Garden (Lesson 18 bought from create and craft tv) for the background and Happy Anniversary from the Happy Words Set (REMHAP). 

I used ONE ink pad for the whole design, Archival Brilliance - Twilight.  This is a tri-colour ink pad.  the colours are pale blue, lilac and Pale Pink. 



Playing around

Hello folks!  I have a few days in between card making and getting on with some artwork that I have to do, so I decided to have a little tidy up in the craft room and in the process found my Perspex Riser...I keep losing it as it is see-through.  So I decided to do something about that.
I used Black Adirondack ink pad (it looks blue on the acrylic) along with my Clarity Stamp Large Landscape.  I placed the Riser on its side over the edge of my table and put a sheet of copy paper between the table and riser to help me see where I was stamping.  I stamped the same image on both sides only as I need to keep the top clear.

I then took my Small Birch Leaf down both edges of one side of the Riser and the Small Cherry Blossom (both the Birch and cherry Blossom are from the Split Tree Set are from Clarity Stamp) down the other edges on the other side. I then glued a Dragonfly to the outside of one side (and when I get my Clarity butterfly I will do the same to the other side).

The Dragonfly from Clarity Stamp was made by stamping on to shrink plastic and leaving to dry before cutting out as close to the line art then using my heat gun to shrink it.

So now hopefully I wont loose it amongst my craft stash!