Mooning About!!

This simple ATC was created for 2 challenges - moon, and moon and stars, at TMTA and Created by Hand Tuesday challenges, respectively. I used my beloved cloudy moon and the small trees from StampAddicts, by Judikins. I masked the moon to keep it white and brayered over the shiny card, using the gum drop big and juicy!! I promised I would do different backgrounds this week!!! Field of sky stamp, also by Judikins, adds the illusion of grass in the corner.
Thanks for looking today
xx

Oriental "Thank You" 谢谢 xièxie Cards

This trio was done for a commission. They are "Thank You" cards for 3 young men who do Taiji Quan with me. I enjoyed doing them, using my new stamps from Lavinia, which I bought at the NEC recently. I used Adirondack Earthtones in butterscotch, red pepper and terracotta. The sun is by Hero Arts. I stamped the trees etc with versafine onyx black - a new pad colour to me, which I LOVE at the moment... it is just so juicy and black!! The sky is good old gum drop from Big 'n juicy. I really like the texture which comes from using the brayer, rollered over the torn paper hills. I think they will go down well with the lads!!

A Circular Tour of My Arch.

Lots of stamping again for this piece, which was made for 2 challenges. The first inspiration was the colour scheme at Gothic Arches, pink and brown. The form was decided by the circles challenge at Daring Cardmakers. The 3 different agapanthus stamps are from Stampendous and the 2 circular stamps are from Hero Arts.

I stamped the images using versacolour brown, blending blox in shades of brown, worn lipstick distress ink and the pinky end of the happy birthday Big n Juicy. I used a favourite ep all through which is Moonglow 2 tone - Kaiser Rudolf russet, which comes out as a pink/gold, and changes over the brown versacolour pigment ink. The background was filled in by spraying latte and bubblegum pink Glimmer mists, which made it more sparkly and gorgeous... I think I will make a card from this, adding a couple of flowers, perhaps, placed strategically - however, I don't have any at the moment, so it might be a time!!!

Looking at the Lantern in the Blossom Garden

Oh I do love doing oriental pieces, and this one was for the One Stop Craft Challenge, oriental. I will use it to make a card, eventually. I used some Judikins stamps, from Stamp Addicts again, plum branch and Michiko, printed on to shiny paper. I also stamped 2 facets of the Japanese fabric cube 1. The lantern is a stamp that Pete bought me one birthday, and I love using it. We brought 3 lanterns home from China, after our memorable holiday, and we always loved putting them up in the garden. You might catch them occasionally, as my garden slideshow goes round, on the sidebar.

I coloured the images with inktense pencils, which are rapidly becoming great favourites. I find them so useful when I want to brayer, as here, because they don't run, once they are dry. I masked the lady, and used the good old gumdrop Big n juicy inkpad, which always makes such an ethereal, evocative background. The piece is mounted on to a piece of silk mirri board, and the display sheet is my beloved DCWV Far East 8"x8" stack. Bao zhong - take care of yourself.

From Me to You - "Posted" with Love

This postal piece was made in response to a challenge at Go Make Something - Make it Monday, postage stamps. I found all the postal images I have, to stamp the background. I used black stazon and red distress inks. There are some oriental chops in there too...

The 3 main images are printed using a Judikins postage frame, masked and re-stamped with a central image - from the top, the artifacts cube and small Carol's butterfly, from Judikins (Stamp Addicts) and oriental lady from Inkadinkado. They were all coloured with inktense pencils then brayered with gumdrop, Big n Juicy. I cut the crimpy edges with my cropodile - every one separately!! The display sheet is from a set I have had for ages, and is covered in postcards and postage stamps - funny that!!!

Walking in the Evening Garden

A Lady for Rainbow Lady!! her challenge this week is to create a scene, and this is my entry. I have used lots of stamps again... Kodomo set Fanning Lady, my fav bamboo from a plate I have had too long to remember (NS?) and winter trees by Judikins. There is also a Japanese fabric cube from Judikins, and the grass border from Kodomo Butterflies set.

I stamped the lady in black stazon, masked her using Eclipse tape, and over printed with the trees, leaves and foliage. I brayered a background using gumdrop Big n Juicy, and then coloured the image with inktense pencils and a waterbrush. I am really enjoying these, and love the way they blend. Thanks for looking...

3 in 1 Solutions...Hearts and Flowers

My hearts and flowers are made to cover 3 challenges - Wednesday Stamper, Tanda Teaser and Arty Girlz. All were to use hearts and / or flowers. I will tell you I am disappointed about the scan, as it is so washed out. The piece is much prettier in colour than it appears.

I used 3 ink pads here, gumdrop from Big n Juicy, Encore Ultimate Metallic (sweet dream) and good old versamark. I used the brayer quite a lot, for the background, and inking up the UMount plate stamps. I used clear ep and covered the whole background with it too. The white hearts made into a doily shape, are printed on to vellum and embossed in white ep. This stamp was a freebie, from a magazine. I cut out the circle with my new cutter from "The Craft Room"

Will I get Skinny with this Recipe?

This is a skinny - 3"x5", a nice little size. It is an entry for Simply Skinnies this week, which is recipes. I wrote a craftholic recipe and used stamps from Elusive Images, stamped on to fantasy film, and the background card. I brayered the embossing powdered print, with Big n Juicy gumdrop, and aged the photographic paper recipe image with chalk ink in wisteria. The fantasy fibres are mixed and ironed (Oh!!! SO sorry to use this horrid word!!!LOL) flat, leaving just a few loose ones on the edge. The mounting area is dark, rich, purple mirri card. A soupcon of ribbon and 2 pinches of dragonfly brads finish this dish of the day... ENJOY!!!

Sunday Postcard Art - Full Moon and Circles

Oh!! This is fun!!

I used some shiny card and printed various circles with several distress inks. I embossed with clear ep, then laid a mask and sprayed with glimmer mist in fully purple. I finished off by brayering with Big n juicy gumdrop to take the whiteness off the clear spaces. The cloudy moon is a Stamp in the hand, printed in purple stazon, masked, then brayered with the gumdrop and cut out with a large punch. The whole postcard is mounted on a corner of a sheet from the DCWV Fairy Tale pack, to pick out the marigold colours in the circles. I SO enjoyed this... thanks for the challenge Hermine, at Sunday Postcard Art.

Tag your Arch - and use an image

This arch has two challenges attached to it... I shall submit it to Gothic Arches for "Tag your Arch" and to Art Creations Friday, from where comes the image. The tag is made using alcohol inks, stamped with a UMount corner flourish, using Encore bronze ink, with clear ep. The ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are cut from the secondary paper ( DCWV Fairy Tale Pack) and coated with Glaze drops, heated so it bubbled and made some texture. The purple/pink background was made by stamping the same flourish corner stamp, on to shiny card, with versamark. When dry, it was brayered with Big N Juicy Happy Birthday, and scanned to A4 size. I really enjoyed all these processes. Hope you like it too...

January RF Card Swap

Here is a swap card for January on our lovely Creating Rainbows forum. The theme was "New Year, New Ideas" . I have used a new set of stamps from Stamp Addicts - trees and cloudy moon, bought at the NEC in November 2008, when I was helping out with Make and Take...

I used Gumdrop Big and Juicy and a brayer, to create the misty background. The smaller trees were printed with Old Paper Distress ink, and the large tree, in the foreground, was stamped in black Stazon. The moon was masked before I brayered so it would stay the colour of the card, which was cream. The whole thing was put together on dark blue card and silver mirri. Quite a dreamy look. The backer was created by stamping on the silver mirri with black Stazon and then embossed with clear powder and it came out quite sparkly. I hope my swap partner likes it when she gets it, later this week!!