A Bit of This n’ That

Greetings Earthlings.
A quickie from me today using a bit of this & that…

…watercolours first, followed by a spot of stencilling with Liquitex Super Heavy Gel on a Crafters Workshop Circles Explosion template, liquid pearl highlights & coordinating sequins.

Simples!

Grrrrrr Moments

 

This card, made for my fabulous son, should have been dead easy to make but I was having ‘one of those’ days.

I dusted off the ol’ Promarkers to create a background & coordinating honeycomb embellishments, using dies from Clearly Besotted

I used a set of Memory Box alphabet dies to cut out my sons name.
This is when it all went downhill.

I stamped ‘Happy Birthday’ underneath his name & the ink smudged, so I re-stamped onto a scrap of card & stuck that on top….that looked rubbish.
Started again, only this time the ‘L’ die slipped in my Cuttlebug and his name came out all wonky.
The third attempt came out straight so I stamped the sentiment above his name & the same damned thing happened…ink smudged…Grrrr. Stamped again on a scrap & thankfully the position looked better this time.

Finally it was time to slip the background behind his name & stick on the honeycomb embellishments, except 1 of the 5 had suddenly disappeared. Mr C & I looked absolutely everywhere only to eventually find it stuck to the back of my arm!!
This card WAS made with huge amounts of love for my son (with a whole heap of ‘Grrrrrr’ moments thrown in).

Happy Birthday Oliver….love yer!!

 

New Homes

 

I’ve been having a BIG crafting clear-out & reminiscing over some of the crafty purchases I’ve made over the years.
There are some seriously cringe-worthy items, lots of shamefully unused bits n’ bobs and, I confess, enough papers to carpet the planet (with several layers).
I’ve also found some real treasures including this cute little house stamp set from a company called One Four Zero. I’m not sure they exist anymore but I’m so glad I rediscovered these stamps in my stash
The floral background was created with Majestix peg stamps.
Off to bundle everything up & to find it all a new, worthy home.

Groovy Greens

 

Wotcha!
Here’s another card using Brushos & stencils.
Like the Muppet that I am, I forgot to photograph the Brusho colours that I used but I think it may have been Leaf & Sea Green.

Using acrylic paper, I spritzed a few drops of water, sprinkled on my Brushos & puffed the colours around using my Tim Holtz puffing gadget to create my background.
I then puffed a co-coordinating green Promarker pen around the edges (again, sorry can’t remember the colour…Doh!)

The next step (my fav’) was to use embossing paste with a stencil (Memory Box - Garden Fronds). I scribbled the same green Promarker pen as before on to my craft sheet & then added a small dollop of paste on top, mixed it together with a pallet knife & created 1 green frond. I sprinkled some glitter on too. When that was dry I repeated the process but this time just using the paste (which is white).

When it was all dry I glazed the green frond with clear gloss, for no reason, other than I like experimenting

To finish I outlined the card to frame it and I’ll add a sentiment at a late date.
Now, I’m off to write a blog post about Streptocarpus (like you do…lol).

 

 

Stay Away From the Light!!

So here we go…attempt number 2 at watercolours.
I was really pleased with this until Mr & Miss C said it was lacking the sun….Grrrr.

So here’s how I started, watercolour paper & drizzles of masking fluid, which I left to dry over night. The masking fluid keeps areas of the paper white when you paint over it. The drizzles were eventually going to be light shimmering on the water.

There are some amazing artists providing online tutorials for watercolour beginners with loads of tips & advice.
I painted the scene, using my Windsor & Newton paints, using more water than my last effort, but the sun was a later addition (one I regret). I added it after the family critiques gave me one of those looks, by which time all the paint had dried & the added sun then didn’t blend or wash out.
A few hours later I rubbed off the masking fluid.

Here’s the end result….just don’t look at the sun!!!!

An Attempt at Water Colouring

Don’t snigger.
This is my first ‘successful’ attempt at water colouring.
I use the word ‘successful’ as a means of describing the only attempt I was brave enough to show you. There’s a bin full of disasters beside me.
The books & online tutorials make it look so easy….phft!

I used these babies….Windsor & Newton half pan watercolours. The tree stamps are from the Cardio Winter Walks collection & the grass from the Inkylicious Essential Grasses set.

I have so many ideas in my head, ideas that I want to get onto paper.
Easier said than done.

Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year everybody & welcome 2015.

Here’s another card using Brusho paints.

You can see from above the colours I used & the MINIMAL amount of paint ‘sprinkles’ needed to create the background. The powder is sprinkled onto dry card (I used satin silk art card this time).

Spritz with water. If you get any large water drops (see top edges of blue) then you can simply dab with tissue or paper towel just to suck up the excess water. Leave to dry naturally. I then spray with cheap hairspray to a) stop the colour coming off on your fingers & b) to re-intensify the colours).

I then cut out the portion I liked, added a Memory Box flowery border below & mounted onto my card. 3 gems…job done.
Ta-Da!