International Art and Soul Challenge 76

The theme for this fortnight is that we want you to be inspired by a favourite song. So long as you share the name of the song, you can make whatever you want.

I struggled with this at first. I have a lot of favourite songs, but none of them seemed to work for a crafty project, and then I thought of good old Gilbert and Sullivan. I do love The Mikado, and one of the songs from that, The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring (Tra La) got me thinking about Easter, and this is the result.

The stamp is from Woodware. I've bought quite a few of their stamps recently, and I do love the uncomplicated style of many of them. I used Versafine Clair ink to stamp, and coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils. It's a much softer effect that I got when I last used this stamp (and Promarkers to colour) but the colours are still bright and clear. I used Distress Ink to shade around the image and sentiment. The sentiment is another Woodware stamp, and I stamped it using a Kaleidacolor ink pad in, aptly named, Blossom shades. I think stamping sentiments in variegated ink pads could become a favourite of mine!

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 62

The challenge for this fortnight is Christmas in July. So, here's your chance to get started on your Christmas cards or gifts, if you haven''t already done that.

I've been playing with a technique for a while - using Tapestry or Majestix stamps or other small stamps from my collection.

And this is another one! The main tree stamp is from Crafty Impressions and I'm afraid I've got no idea who made the bauble stamps. They've been in my collection for years, and I suspect they came from Hobbycraft when I was first trying my hand at stamping.

I've used a Kaleidacolor ink pad for all the stamping. I was lucky enough to find some on sale at Ally Pally in April, and this is one of the new ones  - Fruitcake.The background shading uses Distress Ink.

To finish the card I added some sticky gems to the tree, and ran a clear Sakura Stardust pen around the dotty outline.

Long Time, No Blog

I haven't been around much lately. Although I've been at home, I'm anxiously awaiting various paperwork from banks so I can get my mums accounts submitted and things handed over to the solicitor. And the banks keep making mistakes and taking forever to correct them. It's looking like I might not get it all finished in time for going back to school in a couple of weeks which is crazy.


What with hanging around, waiting for the postman, and generally fretting about things, I haven't done a lot of cardmaking. I've taken leave from OSAAT because I'm just not reliable at the moment, and Crafty Cardmakers/Spotlight is taking a break because so many DT members just needed some time away for various reasons. Still, I make cards as a recreation, so the other day, while I was frustrated at yet another mistake in the figures I was sent, I decided to calm myself with a little watercolouring.

A while ago, I tried out my Aquamarkers and wasn't that impressed, but I stuck with them, and having found a better watercolour paper, I'm getting better results. (I've still got concerns about some colours specifically which seem to sink into the paper instantly and defy all attempts to move the colour at all.) And, when I'm feeling a bit down, what better than to think about fairies and fantasy creatures?

(Entered into the following challenges: Die Cut Dreams where the theme is pink, green and coffee,

Stamps R Us where 'anything goes'

Corrosive Challenges where the theme is 'girlie'

Stamp Insanity where 'anything goes)

 

(Entered into the following challenges: Stamps +Fun where they want 'mythical creatures'

Fashionable Stamping where the theme is hand-made flowers,

Simply Stamping where the theme is 'punch it up'

Art Impressions where 'anything goes.)

Both Ching Chou Kuik images, of course. The top card uses some of those gorgeous MME papers from a magazine. In the case of the second, I coloured as I wanted to, and then found I didn't have any paper to match. so, I got out some yellow card, tapestry stamps and distress Inks. I've also used a Martha Stewart border punch on that one.

The flowers in both are made using a Martha Stewart cornflower punch and card coloured with Aquamarkers and Twinkling H2Os.

(Entered into the following challenges: Cards for Men where 'anything goes',

Here Come the Boys where the theme is brown and oranges,

Lollipop Crafts where the theme is 'make it masculine' )

This one is quite different. I love my Blossom Kaleidacolor ink pad - so much so that I've been wanting to get a few more. I finally ordered a couple - Autumn Leaves and Berry Blaze. I've got to say, I'm not as impressed with the colours on these. The thing I love about the blossom one is that the colours blend to give other colours which are very different to those in the pad while all the shades work beautifully together. With these two newer pads, the colours do work well together, but you only seem to get the basic five shades you started with. Still, Craft Stamper had a lovely leaf stamp recently, so I stamped it with the Autumn Leaves pad, using various combinations of the colours. The background uses the same pad, with the colours added to a non-stick sheet and 'smooshed' with some water.

(Entered into the following challenges: Bunny Zoe where they want Easel cards,

Shabby Tearoom where the theme is summer with a photo inspiration,

Dream Valley where there is a colour theme,

One Stop where the theme is 'bold and bright'

Stampman where they want summer colours,

I Love Promarkers where they want easel cards.)

And finally, a card for my sister and her partner. They got the keys to a new house just a few days after Mum died. It needed quite a lot of work, so they didn't move in right away, and instead pulled the place apart. They're due to finally move in in a couple of weeks.

The image is a Dover Books sample I've had for a while. It's actually a colouring page, but meant to be much bigger. Shrinking it to card-sized made it a bit fiddly to colour, but I was happy with the result, using Promarkers. The paper is from Papermania, and the sentiment is computer generated.