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Woodland Friends

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Sunday Stamps current colour challenge has a gorgeous Autumn palette which I've used in this card featuring some woodland animals, the layout is from a sketch challenge with friends/members over on the docrafts gallery.  All of the stamps are from the Autumnal Treasures set from last year’s Creative Stamping mag issue 60.


I started with the animals colouring them with promarkers and die cut into ovals mounted over a leafy stamped background strip using pigment ink pads.  I also stamped the squirrel onto the background to show more of it's body and so I could raise up the centre oval and tuck behind the two smaller ones.




I didn't want to add too many more layers so stamped directly onto the card base top and bottom to add a sentiment and some leaves/berries/acorn.  I wish we did have red squirrels here in the South West, I'd love to see one, but we only have greys ...



I've used - 5x7 landscape white card base Claritystamp TheuvaCard stamping card Autumnal Treasures sta…
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Two Seaside Scenes

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Today I'm sharing two totally different seaside scene cards ... this first card features stamped beach huts and seagulls coloured with promarkers with added watercolour pencils and brushos for the sand and sky.  I used a heavyweight stamping card which stood up well to all the different mediums used.  For added texture there is some seafoam EP along the bottom edge.


Here are the stamps I've used along with the post it masks which helped for a seamless scene across the card.

I've used - 5x7 white card base Hunkydory 240gm Stamping Card Mag freebie Summer stamp set ChristinesCraftyart Seaside Landscape stamp set Promarkers, Watercolour pencils, Ultramarine brusho Papermania Seafoam EP Linking up with -
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes Challenge
A Place To Start - Anything Goes + Optional Twist: Show Us Your Masking

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
My second card which I made last month is a totally die cut seaside scene – went a bit overboa…
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Hanging Basket with Tapestry Stamps

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I came across three sets of tapestry peg stamps in one of my local charity shops recently so just had to buy them.  This card uses the Garden of Bee Balm set ... no idea why it's called this as it has azalea buds, berries, leaves & flax which I've stamped to look like a hanging basket with hand drawn wires & stamped loops at the top.


I die cut a floral border into the stamped panel then mounted this over some pale purple mulberry paper leaving a small border.  A curved sentiment seemed to work better than a straight one.  I always have plenty of die cut butterflies to hand so chose some in green (from a brusho scrap) to scatter around as it really makes all the difference to the overall look of the card.


For a little bit of shine the sentiment was heat embossed with clear EP & I added some glitter pen highlights too on the berries & wires.  I do like the look of these soft pastel tones together.
I've used - 6x6 scalloped white card base Claritystamp Theuva st…
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In my garden there is ...

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a wild area for nature to do it's own thing ...well I definitely have flowers and bees in my garden, not sure about a beehive/nest though!  This background was started some time ago with Distress Oxides by dabbing my card in the inks spritzed with water and also used some bubble wrap for an added pattern here and there.  As Oxides have a chalky finish when dry I filled the embossed honeycomb shapes with glossy accents which reactivated the colours underneath leaving them vibrant again.


Stamps were embossed with clear EP, then just the bee, flower heads & leaves stamped again on yellow card, cut out and fixed on top.  Die cut some foliage and arranged so the beehive was not just hanging in mid air.  To complete the scene the smallest sentiment I have was stamped on a scrap of vellum and tucked under the larger flower head.



Finished panel mounted on orange cardstock & onto a green card base cut from an A4 sheet.



I've used -
5.25” sq green pearlescent card base
Claritystamp …
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CAS Eclipse Autumn Leaf

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This month's challenge at CAS Stencil is to use sprays or mists with our stencils so I set about making my own with Brusho powders in a couple of spritzer bottles choosing autumn colours.  I'm so glad I decided to spray outside because it was a messy experience!  After several attempts with different stencils which I wasn't overly happy with the results I settled on this swoosh design.


Here you can see most of the elements I've used ... started by die cutting an aperture from my card panel, the circular inside piece was sprayed with yellow and scarlet Brushos through the stencil which blended the colours nicely together.  Once dry the leaf was die cut out and adhered three more die cuts underneath (one white & two dark red) to create the eclipse effect.  Everything slotted back together just like a jigsaw puzzle.


I was originally going to add a stamped sentiment until the new Just Add Ink challenge popped into my inbox which was to use 'no stamping' this we…
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CAS Green Man

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Back in 2016 when I was in the Clarity stamp club this Green Man arrived one month and it’s finally had some inking … he looks more than a little grumpy though!  As Barbara Grey wrote in her step-by-step leaflet ... "Not everybody's cup of tea, although he actually symbolises the cycle of growth and rebirth each spring".

I’ve now discovered the Green Man is found in many forms throughout history, and in many different guises, but the common feature is the face covered by foliage … a truly leafy man, often found carved in wood or stone in medieval churches and cathedrals.  The Green Man means different things to different people in this day and age.  I expect to many he represents a figure who is an Environmental guardian “the keeper of the forests and woods”.


Anyway back to my card ... he's stamped, coloured with promarkers then embossed over the top with a falling leaves EF (you might just be able to see the embossed pattern over him).  After adding a die cut frame,…
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A Little Summer Fashion

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Encouraged by a sketch challenge with friends/members over on docrafts where the theme was ladies fashion I set about making a summer dress and hat using circle dies finding lots of ideas on Pinterest.  I'll never be a seamstress but at least I can create with paper ...


It was fairly straightforward to cut into the large scalloped circle once die cut to shape the dress folding the sides behind ... the hat was embossed with a cross stitch EF for a natural straw look (small circle on top of a larger circle) with a little half moon band to match the dress.  Also decided to lightly sand the measuring tapes.



I've seen lots of different punch/die art looks on Pinterest for dresses and hats, the possibilities seem endless but I kept mine simple this time.  Hmmm could have made the waist slimmer!

Here's the sketch we were following.
I've used - 6x6 scalloped edge white card blank
Creative Dies stitched/pierced nesting oval
M&C Boutique scallop edge & stitched circle dies Xc…
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Nautical Birthday

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It's been far too hot to craft this past week in my little craft room and this card has been sitting half finished for a while ... luckily it's a little cooler today so my mojo kicked in and here's the completed card.  I think I'd really love to be sat on the coast with a gentle breeze blowing watching these little boats out on the water ...


I cut a wavy aperture out of paper so I could stamp the anchor and compass through it directly onto the card base, repeating this four times then lightly brushing ink along the edges to define the curves.  A circular stamped topper was die cut for the three little sailing boats and birthday sentiment coloured with promarkers.


 I've used - white 13.5 cm sq card base Stamps - mixture of Kanban, Hot off the Press & mag freebies VersaColor pigment inks – sky blue, smoke blue, atlantic Unbranded stitched circle dies Promarkers & glitter gelly roll pen
This was created for our art-digi-stamp challenge with friends/members over …
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Graduation - Congrats

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It's that time of the year for Graduation ceremonies to be held and I've made this card for our daughter who is graduating this week ... wow where did the last four years go … and she is staying on to do a masters … she just loves learning!

I've gone with a star design using a set of wonky stitches nesting dies cut from three different colours mounted on a piece of patterned vellum.  The colours I chose were influenced from a letter "J" colour challenge I'm hosting with friends/members over on docrafts.  My colours are Jonquil, Jazzberry Jam & June Bud.

I made the little scroll with more of the vellum and a piece of recycled ribbon from a clothes tag.  Quite like the added sparkle the adhesive glitter sheet gives.


The top right star is mounted with a thin foam pad as its slightly overlapping the main star whereas the others are adhered flat with strong red liner tape.  I did add extra wet glue to the individual Graduation letters just to be on the safe si…
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Floral Wreath Builder Card

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Something I've been meaning to revisit for a while now is wreath builder style cards.  For this card I've also combined stamping with brushos for the oval topper.  I used a charity shop bargain 50p foam stamp spritzed with water & stamped onto watercolour card sprinkled with brushos first – any paint crystals not activated by the water can be brushed off when dry … added die cut dots to the flower centres and a rub-on butterfly.  I used the current layout from Freshly Made Sketches #395 ... rotating the design and used an oval instead of a circle.



The background stamping was more involved than normal as I wanted the elements to fan out from the sides of the oval topper.  Most were stamped & then rotated 90 degrees on the four corners to duplicate whilst the orange flowers were stamped twice turning 180 degrees.

No room for a sentiment on the front though ... I'll make up for that on the inside.

Here's a picture taken on my stamping platform before adding the g…
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Get Well Soon

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I'd like to share a clean and fresh card with a cute little owl flying by to say " Get Well Soon".  Luckily The Paper Players current sketch popped into my inbox over the weekend so my card layout follows that as up til that point I was getting nowhere fast deciding where to place all the elements I had on my desk.


My base panel is a well used EF as I love the quilted effect, the ornate flower die has had it's first airing and I've chosen to use a different circular die from another set cut from coloured cardstock for the centres.  This card is also for a challenge over on docrafts with friends/members. 

I've used - 5x7 white card base Papermania Textured cardstock Xcut Quilting EF Mag freebie DaliART ornate flower die Owl stamp & circular die from The Works Mag freebie sentiment stamp
Playing along with The Paper Players Sketch Challenge: PP447
Thank you for visiting - I'd love you to leave a comment if you have time - Steph x
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Stencilling with Pigment Powders

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This month's CAS Stencil Challenge was to use Perfect Pearls/Pearl-Ex pigment powders ... languishing on my shelf was something I bought a long time ago which I never had much success with ... a set of Cosmic Shimmer iridescent mica pigments so out they came.   I soon remembered why ... they were still smudging even with wafting through a fine mist of water like the video tutorials mentioned.



After a rethink I chose to work with a floral stencil that had really small elements so I dry embossed it first on kraft card to raise up the design before applying VersaMark ink and heat embossing with sticky stuff embossing powder (another little used purchase).  With a paintbrush I placed red bronze & pearlescent pigments to target certain areas before dusting off and thankfully I got better results, plenty of shimmer and no smudges.


I set the panel inside a thin frame mounted on linen colour pearlescent card and attached to an A6 size kraft base.  My design is slightly raised with tex…
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Dad you are the best ...

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My Dad loves all the garden birds that visit and feeds them a banquet every day!  I’m quite pleased how this card turned out ... all ready for Father's Day on Sunday.



I took a picture of all the elements before deciding how to place them, they are stamped, coloured with promarkers and hand cut.  I've shaped the blue tit, bullfinch and yellow flower buds adding silicone glue underneath for dimension.  Just the birdhouse & sentiment were raised on thin foam pads.

To achieve the blue panel layer I dry embossed a flagstone stencil then dragged two shades of blue ink pads over it so the colours just caught in certain places.  The second branch was snipped into pieces so they could fill any gaps.

The layout was inspired by a sketch I created for a challenge over on docrafts with friends/members so I thought I would include a picture of that too.  The triangle shape is represented by the two birds & foliage with your eye following the angle of the branch up behind the birdhous…
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Hello, hello ...

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Really struggling to find enough time to craft lately ... these two cards were made for challenges over on docrafts with friends/members.  My first card made today was for a letter "I" colour challenge where we also had to add some foliage ... I went overboard and added lots!




I chose to stamp and white emboss two different leaves onto card that matched India Green, Icterine & Iris colours ... these were cut using matching dies and arranged around a hand cut sentiment banner ... some adhered flat whilst the larger leaves were shaped and raised with silicone glue.
I've used - 5x5 white scalloped edge card blank Mag freebie foliage stamps with matching dies JudiKins opaque white EP Hello Hello sentiment & banner from a Docrafts Roald Dahl stamp set
I'd also like to play along at -
Aud Sentiments Challenge Blog #228 Nature + A Sentiment
Watercooler Wednesday WWC223 - Anything Goes Challenge * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
My second card was made last weekend for…
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