Peaceful Night In Blue

Hello there. Do you love that blue glow and hushed silence that falls over the world after a heavy snowfall? Ahem, I'm getting a bit poetic there, aren't I?

Well, this card has such a peaceful look to the scene that I always get that impression of silent snowfall and a hushed land with the eerie blue light every time I look at it.

It's such a pretty little winter scene. Dare I say the 'C' word? ….Oh go on then - it's a great scene for a Christmas card.

This amazing set of stamps from Visible Image called 'Into The Woods' is a beautiful one and it is incredibly versatile for all those different skies that we can create with our inks, gelli plates and brushos.  These stamps look stunning as a spring, summer, autumn, winter, calm sky, dramatic sky, brooding sky, or for a day or a night scene, so it is a staple set to have in your stash for so many different occasions.

 

 

This card is really easy to make too. First create a moon mask and attach it to your panel. Then blend a sky with only blue distress inks, working from the lightest colour nearest the moon to the darkest colour at the outside edges. When you are happy with the sky, remove the moon mask and gently go over the moon with a little of the lightest ink to dull the harsh whiteness of it.

 

Then stamp the trees and the flying owl in the distress oxide. Next add some 'snow' to the branches and the sky with a white opaque pen.

 

Paint some white acrylic paint in the foreground and when that is dry, add glue and sprinkle with ice diamond. This adds some texture and sparkle to the card.

 

Blend another piece of card and dry the ink. Then heat emboss the word 'peaceful' from the Zodiac Libra set in white. Cut the word down so that only 'peace' remains.

 

Attach the scene to your card blank with 3d foam, and attach the sentiment directly to the card blank.

 

 

Stamps Used:

(please click on the picture to be taken direct to the stamp set in the online store):
      

Other Supplies:

White card, Distress Inks ( tumbled glass, broken china, faded jeans, chipped sapphire), Distress Oxide (faded jeans), White Opaque Pen, white acrylic paint, glue, Pinflair Ice Diamond, fun foam, Versamark clear ink, WOW! opaque bright white embossing powder.


I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
2 Crafty Critter Crazies #15 - Anything Goes with a Critter
Craft Stamper  June Take It Make It - Anything Goes
Craftaholics R Us #25 - Anything Goes
Get Creative Challenge #70 - Monochromatic
Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge June - Anything goes + option of joy (I used peace)
Monochrome Magic #11 - Monochrome OR monochrome with a twist of purples
Patties Creations #147 - Anything That Flies
Stamping Sensations June - Anything Goes
The Southern Girls Challenge - Anything Goes
The Artistic Stamper  June challenge - Colour It Blue

Visible Image social media and other links (just click on the words in capital letters):

SHOP where the fantastic stamps are sold
BLOG with all the latest news and posts
FACEBOOK PAGE with info, inspiration and weekly giveaways
FACEBOOK GROUP come share your work with us and enter the monthly 'show and tell' challenges
INSTAGRAM
PINterest

That's it from me for now. Thanks for stopping by and I really hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Less is More #373 - Friendship

 

Hi. I had some quality time in my craft room this week and that means I've gone crazy with my makes. I have 4 cards to share for my Less is More inspiration.

 

Here is the Less is More Cue Card (don't forget to click on the cue card to see lots more incredible inspiration from the rest of the design team):

 

And here are our fab June sponsor details :

http://www.uniko.co.uk/shop/

And the lovely Bev is joining us as our guest designer today. To see her card hop on over to the LIM blog and click on her name to be take directly to her blog.so without further ado, here is the first card.

 

So to my cards:

 

1) Cherish Friendship

This stamp set was the first one that sprang to mind when I saw the friendship theme ....and luckily it is one by our lovely June sponsor Uniko Stamps.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:
1) Crafting From The Heart #209 - Anything Goes
2) Crafty Creations Challenge #367  - Anything Goes
3) Creative Knockouts #249 - Anything Goes
4) Creative Moments #144 - Anything Goes

To make this card, stamp the main leafy frame in lime green ink, then add additional elements in green and purple inks using first, second and third generation stamping. Add tiny gems to the centres of some of the flowers. Add detail to the leaves with 2 colours of green crayon. Cut the purple card with stitched curve dies, mount all onto fun foam and then onto the card blank.

STAMPS: Uniko:  Originally Organic Additions
DIES: Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders
INKS: VersaColor 42 lime, 17 violet, 36 heliotrope
OTHER: White card, Purple Card, clear gems, green pencil crayons, fun foam.

 

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2) Butterfly Friend

I have been very blessed over the past year as I have won a few challenges, so I am giving a couple of my prizes a little outing on this card. I have to use them soon after they arrive in my craft room because if I don't, they will become items I just look at! Anyway, the Happy Little Stampers stamp set is the prize I picked for winning AAA Card Challenge in March and the Sugar Pea Designs die is from my prize for winning Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge in December.

I am also using my most favourite crafty items at the moment - my polychromos pencils. Have I told you how much I LOVE these pencils?

I'm entering this into
1) Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - All Things Bright and Beautiful (a second entry from me)
2) Shopping our Stash #357 -Our Favourite Things
3) Use Your Stuff #315 - Butterflies (a second entry for me)
4) Watercooler Wednesdays #173 - Feminine Anything Goes

I cut the grey central panel out first. Then I stamped the butterflies in versamark ink and left the stamps on the door of my Misti. The butterflies were coloured with polychromos pencils, and the panel placed back in the misti for re-stamping with versamark and then heat embossing with gold powder. The panel was attached directly onto a white mat an this attached directly onto a card blank so that it is perfect for posting.

STAMPS: Happy Little Stampers: Butterfly Birthday.
DIES: Sugar Pea Designs Card Front Element Builder
INKS: Versamark Clear
OTHER: Grey & white card, Polychromos pencils (cream, light yellow glaze, cadmium yellow, dark chrome yellow, light green, leaf green, emerald green), Detail gold embossing powder.

 

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3) Angels

 

This is one of the nicest sentiments I have ever seen that fits the friendship theme. It's from the latest release by Visible Image stamps and it needed nothing more than an inky background and a frame.

 

I'm entering this into

1) CAS on Friday #134 - Embossing

2) Get Creative Challenge #70 - Monochromatic

3) Through The Craftroom Door 5th June - Anything Goes

4) Word Art Wednesdays #338 & #339 - Anything Goes 

The background is inked with all 3 distress inks, then using peacock feathers and random stamping, parts of the tentacles of the largest jellyfish from Dare To Swim were stamped in second generation ink, and the geometric shape from Life is Beautiful was stamped in first generation ink. The sentiment was heat embossed in white embossing powder.  I die cut a frame, popped everything together and added 3 gems to finish.

STAMPS: Visible Image: So Much Stronger, Dare To Swim and Life Is Beautiful

DIES: My Favourite Things Inside Out Stitched Rectangels

INKS: Versamark Clear, Distress Ink (tumbled glass, broken china, peacock feathers.

OTHER: White Card, WOW opaque bright white embossing powder, gems  

 

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4) Masculine Friends

Men = geometric in my mind.

I thought there might be times when it would be good to give a card to a man to let them know that you still support them. So out came those really versatile geometric shapes from Visible Image. There was a bit of masking going on to get this sentiment, but it was worth it.

This card is for 4 challenges:
1) Crafty Cardmakers #213 - For a Man/Boy
2) Dream Valley Challenge #180 - For Man or Boy
3) Ellibelle's Crafty Challenge for June Make it masculine
4) Unicorn Challenge #33 - Masculine

I stamped the lines onto black card with versamark ink and heat embossed them with Verdigris EP. The circles were stamped and heat embossed with Copper Sparkle EP. The I took corresponding poly chromos pencils to add a little additional colour to the shapes. The sentiment is made up from 2 sentiments in so much stronger set and it was heat embossed in white EP and raised up on 3d Foam.

STAMPS: Visible Image: Shape It Up and So Much Stronger
INKS: Versamark Clear
EMBOSING POWDERS: WOW! Colour Blend Verdigris, Metallic Copper Sparkle & Opaque Bright White
OTHER: Black and lime green card, Polychromos pencils (light green, venetian red), 3d foam pads.

 

 

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That's it from me for now. I hope you found something you like and I really hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Sparkling Butterfly

Hi! Today I'm adding a little sparkle into your lives with an inky little number that uses a couple of gorgeous Visible Image  stencils and a stamp, plus loads of twinkly embossing powder and sprinkling of glamour dust. (Scroll down for a photo that really captures the sparkle).

One thing I love to do with stencils it to layer them on top of each other to create a bit of added interest and additional pattern. This wonderful butterfly stencil is perfect for that technique because it has a large open area.

Here's how I made this card:

Wet a piece of watercolour paper, then using the Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer, spritz distress markers to make the background and dry with a heat tool. Attach the 'Butterfly Ink' stencil and blend through the stencil with mustard seed distress ink. Attach the 'Count Me In' stencil over the top and blend through both stencils with spiced marmalade.

Remove all the stencils. Drawing freehand, draw around the outside edge of the butterfly with a white opaque pen and then use a black pen outside the white line. Draw around the outside of the numbers in the butterfly with candied apple, then add detail glue inside the numbers and sprinkle with glamour dust. (I'd forgotten that I still had glamour dust until I was rooting through my stash the other day!)

Add a few 'veins' to the background by painting them in with a paintbrush using tarnished brass distress stain.

Ink a small piece of card with the same colours as the background, stamp and heat emboss the sentiment before fussy cutting it out.

Create 2 sparkly mats for the sentiment and the main image by inking the outside edges with versamark clear ink and then heat embossing with a sparkly black embossing powder.

Stamps and Stencils Used:

(please click on the picture to be taken direct to the stamp set in the online store):
          
 

Other Supplies:

Watercolour Card, Distress Markers (mustard seed, carved pumpkin, dried marigold, abandoned coral, picked raspberry, candied apple, black soot), Distress Inks (mustard seed, spiced marmalade, picked raspberry), Distress Stain (tarnished brass), TH Distress Marker Spritzer, white opaque pen, detail glue, glamour dust, versamark clear ink, Wow! black twinkle embossing powder.


I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
2 Crafty Critter Crazies #15 - ATG with a critter
Crafty Galz Corner #167 - Summer Colours
Dare To Be Artzy - Bright Colours
Heartful Stamping Challenge Jun 3-10 - Anything Goes
Pammies Inky Pinkies #1822 - Anything Goes
Polkadoodles Challenge #22 - Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft #58 Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - All Things Bright And Beautiful
Use Your Stuff #315 - Butterflies
I'll also be entering this into the WOW! Embossing Powder Fans Facebook Group monthly challenge for June which has a theme of anything goes.

Visible Image social media and other links (just click on the words in capital letters):

SHOP where the fantastic stamps are sold
BLOG with all the latest news and posts
FACEBOOK PAGE with info, inspiration and weekly giveaways
FACEBOOK GROUP come share your work with us and enter the monthly 'show and tell' challenges
INSTAGRAM
PINterest

I hope you liked this inky offering from me today. I'll be back again on Saturday with my usual CAS style of card. Thanks for stopping by and I really hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Monochrome Colouring

Hi!  This is not a usual day for me to post on my blog but I've been a bit busy recently and needed a little creative time so I did a bit of colouring and stamping this morning with some of my Visible Image goodies.

I recently invested in a few polychromos pencils I need a little practice to help me get used to colouring with this new medium.  So I'm starting off very gently using just one pencil to get the hang of how to do a little shading with them.

I thought it'd be fun to do shading using a stencil rather than a stamp, so I picked the amazing new stencil from Visible Image called Collision and drew around it with the white polychromo first. Then I removed the stencil and shaded around the outlines.

To finish the card, I stamped the owls from the Into The Woods set in white pigment ink, added some gems and stamped a sentiment from No Space For Drams set

Stamps and Stencil Used:

(please click on the picture to be taken direct to the stamp set in the online store):
         

 

Other Supplies:

Black paper, white card, white polyhromo pencil, gems.

 

While I'm here I'd like to enter this card in a few challenges:

I'm joining in day 4 of The 30 day colouring challenge (on Instagram) where we are practicing our colouring.
It's also for:
Addicted to stamps #165 - Black and White (optional one other colour)
Country View Challenge for June - where the theme is the written word.
Crafty Catz #419 - Anything goes with the option of black and white
Creative Moments #144 - Anything Goes
Inkspirational #162 - cue word 'POWER' - you have power over your thoughts is the message in the sentiment.
Inspiration Destination #151 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown #394 - Create Your Own Background
Watercooler Wednesdays WWC172 - Anything Goes

Visible Image social media and other links (just click on the words in capital letters):

SHOP where the fantastic stamps are sold
BLOG with all the latest news and posts
FACEBOOK PAGE with info, inspiration and weekly giveaways
FACEBOOK GROUP come share your work with us and enter the monthly 'show and tell' challenges
INSTAGRAM
PINterest

That's it for today, I'll be back on Thursday (unless I do some more colouring before then). I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Less is More #372 - Thinking of you

I'm thinking of you …. in a one layer way...… yes I am!

Ok, you sussed me out.... maybe that's the theme for the latest challenge at Less is More.

Yes it is one layer week and I only have the one card for you today, having been away for a couple of weeks and I've been a bit busy since getting back here.

 

However if you head on over to the challenge blog you'll find loads of fantastic inspiration from the design team, and they may even have more on their personal blogs.

My simple card was so easy to make. I just stamped the outline image and sentiment in black ink, then stamped the layers in distress inks using a Misti for positioning, and multiple stamping to get a good coverage. Then I painted masking fluid over the image so that the blue distress ink could be blended over the flowers.  The finishing touches were to splatter a little bundled sage and then plain water over the 'sky' for interest and after remove masking fluid and I add gems to the centres of the flowers.

STAMPS: AlteNew Extra Special
INKS: Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Inks (mustard seed, spiced marmalade, bundled sage, mowed lawn and tumbled glass)
OTHER: White card, misti, masking fluid and paintbrush, 3 gold gems



I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Create and Inspire Challenge #74 - Anything goes optional theme spring
Delicious Doodles Challenge May - Flowers
Fabrika Fantasy #20 - Flowers
Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge May - One Layer
Moo Mania and More! - Flowers
Shopping Our Stash #355 - April Showers Bring May Flowers
The Card Concept #93 - Floral Centrepiece

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That's it from me for now. I hope to be back to my usual 2 or 3 cards for LIM at the next challenge.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Watercoloured Hummingbird

Hello there.

I've been very kind to you today because my card only uses one stamp set and just a few other supplies. You really don't need a ton of supplies to be able to create something beautiful with this amazing stamp set from Visible Image stamps.

This beautiful hummingbird was just crying out for some gorgeous blue and green colours and I just couldn't resist a bit of water colour drippage too.  The amazing black twinkle embossing powder also gives this gorgeous bird a wonderful shimmer. I hope you like it as much as I do.

How to make this card.

Stamp the hummingbird image in black ink onto white card using a stamp positioner tool such as a Misti. Leave the stamp on the door of the stamp positioner.

Paint the hummingbird using Gansai Tambi water colour paints. Paint clear water onto the card where you want the drips to appear, trying to match up the drips with colours used on the hummingbird. Add the paint to the top of the card for each individual drip and let it run down towards the bird. Set aside to dry.

Once dry, use an antistatic pad on the panel and re-stamp the bird again in versamark ink (that's why you needed to leave the stamp in your stamping tool!) and heat emboss with a sparkly black embossing glitter.

Mount the panel onto gold card and add a couple of additional thin strips of the card for some added interest. Mount the panel onto a card blank. Stamp the words onto spare white card, cut them out and mount them to the panel with 3d foam.

Here's a close-up where you can catch how sparkly the embossing glitter is.

Stamps Used:

(please click on the picture to be taken direct to the stamp set in the online store):
 

Other Supplies:

Versafine Onyx Black ink. Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolours (No50 pale aqua, No55 green, No61 cornflower blue, No62 cobalt blue, No64 blue, No91 bluish gold), Versamark clear ink, WOW! black twinkle embossing glitter, white card, gold card.


I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
AAA Cards #115 - Inspired By Nature
Calling All Sistahs #CGS13 - Be inspired by the photo or use the colour chips

Crafty Calendar Challenge May - Things With Wings
Daisy Chain Challenges #19 - Animals - any no of challenges
Pearly Sparkles Challenge #28 - Things With Wings - any no of challenges
Penny Black and More May - Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers SOSS#110 - I is for Inky
Stamping Sensations May Challenge - Close o Nature
The Crafters Café Challenge #194 - All Creatures Great and Small 10 challenges in total

Visible Image social media and other links (just click on the words in capital letters):

SHOP where the fantastic stamps are sold
BLOG with all the latest news and posts
FACEBOOK PAGE with info, inspiration and weekly giveaways
FACEBOOK GROUP come share your work with us and enter the monthly 'show and tell' challenges
INSTAGRAM
PINterest

That's it from me for now. Thanks for stopping by and I really hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx

Less is More #371 - Yellow, Blue & Grey

Hello! How are you all? I'm currently having a great time in the UK, and I still have another week before heading home again. I've come over to see my daughter and grandchildren, but at this very moment I should be at my Mother's house as I'm spending a week with her too.  But enough of that...you're here for the LIM challenge, aren't you?

 

We have our colour challenge this week at Less is More and it looks like we've chosen our logo colours this time.

We're joined today by JoJo who was our March Winner. You can see Jojo's fantastic card HERE and if you also head to the challenge blog you'll fine some brilliant inspiration from the design team.

 

And our generous sponsor for May is   

I made 2 cards for you.

1) Geometric Thanks

This is a quick card. I am in love with these brand new geometric shape stamps from Visible Image. I think I may be using them quite a bit on my backgrounds because they are really fun to use.

I made this by putting brusho on my craft mat, wetting it, smooshing my card into the wet brusho and then drying my card.  I stamped the geometric shapes in distress inks on the top of the smooshed panel. The panel was matted onto some 3d foam, then grey card and finally onto the card blank. The 'thanks' was die cut twice in grey card and these were glued together I cut it again in white card and then embossed it with pale blue embossing powder before gluing it to the grey word, slightly offset to create a shadow look. The word was then glued to the central panel on the card.

STAMPS: Visible Image 'Shape It Up'
DIES: Altenew Halftone Thanks
INKS: Versamark clear ink, Distress inks (squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, tumbled glass and weathered wood).
OTHER: WOW! embossing powder (misty sky), Brusho (yellow), white card.

2) Free Soul

This is my 5 minute card! A great image for teenagers, isn't it?

Mask the shoes and stamp the jeans in light blue ink onto a piece of white card. Mask the jeans and stamp the shoes in grey ink. Mask off all but the last 2 words on the sentiment and stamp those in grey ink. Colour the laces of the shoes with a Promarker.  Round one corner on the white panel and also on the corresponding corner of the yellow card blank. Mount the panel onto the card blank.

STAMPS: Visible Image Teenage Kicks and Free Soul
INKS: VersaColor 19 cyan, VersaCraft 181cool grey
OTHER: White card, Yellow Card, post-it notes for masking, lemon Promarker.  

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That's it from me for now. I hope you found something you like and I really hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,
Sharon xx