Ink Blending

 Happy New Year folks! (Albeit rather late)

I hope you all had as good a Christmas and New Year as could be considering the current circumstances. My parents, brother and his girlfriend came over to ours for Christmas day. I cooked a huge feast and we all had a really lovely time including a video call with the American family. Isn't it such a blessing to live in an age where we can see and speak with people on the other side of the world at the click of a button?

So, its now January and we are back in another lockdown. Things do seem pretty bleak at the moment but to cheer us up Stampin' Up have a new mini catalogue which launched on January 5th. It's also Sale-A-Bration during January and February which just means extra loveliness and freebies!! Woop woop! 

The new mini is full of gorgeous new stamps, dies, accessories and tools! One of my absolute favourite new tools is the blending brushes! Oh my goodness, these are AMAZING! I have spend the last few weeks ink blending practically everything I've made! This tool makes ink blending so super easy and transitioning between colours so seamless! 

I would suggest 1 blending brush per colour group - Blues, Greens, Yellows, Reds, Purples, Browns etc, as this will ensure each of your colours stays bright and fresh. 

Ink: Pacific Point, Gorgeous Grape, Memento Black

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White

Punch: Story Label

Accessories: Black/Pool Party Baker's Twine (retired), Matte Black Dots

Tools: Blender Brushes

This card is pretty simple and really showcases the beautiful ink blending using the new blending brushes. Unlike sponges which can leave harsh marks, these brushes are made up of super soft bristles which gives a really soft, smooth finish. 

Apply the ink in a gentle circular motion overlapping the two colours in the centre of the card. The brush applies thin layers of ink which means it can be blended out very easily to either create an ombre effect or blended with other colours. Applying more layers of ink on top of one another will intensify the colour. Here I blended Pacific Point and Gorgeous Grape together over Whisper White cardstock. I love the additional colours created where these two colours overlap and blend.

After I had finished blending the colours I sprinkled water over the card, left it for a moment then used a tissue to soak up the excess water. This draws some of the colour back out of the cardstock and makes a lighter effect. 

I wrapped some of the retired black/pool party bakers twine I had around blended card and tied it into a bow. 

I stamped my greeting in black on a spare offcut of the blended background. I layered this on a black story label punch. I adhered this with a dimensionals over the twine just below the bow. 

To finish it off I added a spattering of the new matte black dots across the card. I just think these look lovely and have a way of tying everything together. 

I have enjoyed ink blending so much I can't wait to share this new technique with my lovely ladies that attend my virtual Craft Together sessions. This is one of the cards we will be making this month! 

Stay safe, 

Hey Baby!

Hi! 

Woah hasn't the weather been HOT!? Yesterday amidst the heat I finished a big project that I've been working on for the last few weeks, I can't quite share it yet but its really cool and I had a lot of fun making it! 

Toda I have a really quick little new baby card I created for my friend Vicky who had a little boy a couple weeks ago. We got to know each other through my craft classes. 

I'm afraid the lighting isn't too great on this card, I was wanting to get it in the post with the gift and the light was fading at this point! I used mainly retired products, they're still some of my faves that I haven't been able to let go of! 

Stamp Set: Two by Two

Cardstock: Whisper White, Balmy Blue

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Blends: Pool Party, Balmy Blue, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Highland Heather

Emboss: Decorative Dots

Dies: Circles

As I said above, most of this, besides the card and blends is all retired products. I stamped and cut out the Two by Two stamp onto some whisper white and coloured it in with the blends- totally my favourite way to colour at the moment! 

I embossed the background with the decorative dots embossing folder and then stuck everything together. It was as simple as that! 

Before I go I thought I might just share the sweet baby gift I made for them. (Vicky is penguin mad!)

Aren't these penguins just the cutest thing? I made it in fun rainbow colours and backed it with a super soft cuddly plush fleece. I had fun making it and hope that Vicky and her little babe get lots of fun and enjoyment out of it too! 

Have a great day, 

Forever Vines

Hello! 

It looks like the beautiful weather is back this week which is great! But with that the hayfever! 

I have a quick little card to share with you today, another one I made for the June Craft Together session. 

Stamp Set: Peaceful Moments

Ink: Shaded Spruce

Cardstock: Soft Sea Foam, Just Jade, Shaded Spruce

DSP: Forever Greenery

Emboss: Greenery Mini

Punch: Story Label

Accessories: Champagne Rhinestones

Isn't this watercolour leaf/vine DSP gorgeous? I love how it pairs with the vine embossing in the background. If you remember from previous posts I explained that the Greeney embossing folders were minis so they can only emboss a section up to 8cm wide. I knew that I couldn't emboss the whole card background so decided to use this as a design element in the card. I chose to line it up against the side so that there was a strip of plain card down the side and off set the story label punch with the greeting on it also. 

I think the layers work really well together in this card. 

I was actually going to post this on Monday but when I got home from work I fell asleep on the sofa and forgot, then, I'm not entirely sure what happened on Tuesday...oops! Better late than never though! Enjoy!

Have a great hump day, 

Join Me: July Jar of Flowers Craft Together Session

Hello! 

What have you been up to this weekend? I have been super busy working on a few sewing projects and planning my inspiration cards for next month's craft together session. Incase anyone wants to join in I thought I'd share details of the session and such. I've tried to include a few options to try and suit all budgets.  

When? Sunday 12th July at 10am

Where? The comfort of your own home. 

How? You'll be invited to join a Facebook messenger group and the video session will run through this. 

Cost? There's a basic cost and then some add ons if you wish. See below. 

Book by? Sat 27th June. I'll be putting the order in for your goodies next weekend! 

Basic kit - Jar of Flowers stamp set and 6 sheets of 6"x6" Flowers for all Seasons DSP = £26

Add the Jar punch to the basic kit = £39

 Add 2 shaker jar domes = £1.20

Add 12 sheets coordinating cardstock (2x Magenta Madness, Cinnamon Cider, Bumble Bee, Just Jade, Misty Moonlight, Poppy Parade)

I have assumed that you have basic crafting supplies - paper cutter, scissors, acrylic blocks for stamping, sentiment stamps, white cardstock, adhesive, ink and colouring medium.

I have used the Stampin' Blends on a lot of my samples - I just love how beautifully they colour and blend but anything you have will work - blender pens, colour pencils, watercolor pencils, markers. 

If you need anything else ordering I'd be happy to add it to the order too! 

Just to finish off today I thought I'd share a tiny sampling of the cards I've been making with the products ready for the craft together session. I'd love to have you join us! 

Have a great week! 

Greenery Scrap Buster

Hi again! 

Remember a few days ago I shared with you a couple of cards using the watercolour strips from the Forever Greenery DSP from the craft together session last weekend? Well, after making those two cards I was left with some short strips. I toyed with tossing them but I kept thinking that I could probably find a way to use them up - after all I seem to be on a scrap busting binge at the moment. 

Stamp Set: Well Said

Ink: Shaded Spruce

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

DSP: Forever Greenery

Accessories: Champagne Rhinestones

This is as simple as it looks, I stuck down the remaining scraps to a piece of Whisper White. I liked the jaunty angles and felt this added a bit more movement to the card. I added a sentiment and some rhinestones over the top. Such a simple card. 

Now if you like this but can't handle the idea of cutting out all the watercolour stripes, here's a second, even easier version!

Stamp Set: Well Said

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Cardstock: Pretty Peacock, Whisper White

DSP: Forever Greenery

Here's how the card looks just using the pattern paper as it is. Simple as that! 

I hope you enjoyed these really quick and easy cards. You could make this with pretty much any pattern paper but I think the stripes in this paper really works nicely. 

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Take care, 

Scrappy Stripes

Hello! 

Yesterday I shared with you a scrap busting weave design. Today I have another scrap buster! This one is perfect for even smaller scraps. I have two cards to show you, one using brights scraps and the other with subtles scraps!  You'll have to let me know which is your favourite! 

Stamp Set: Peaceful Moments

Ink: Bermuda Bay

Carstock: Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point

Punch: Story Label

Accessories: Brights Candy Dots

This is really simple, I layered up all the little strippy scraps that I had onto a piece of white scrap card. I made it a bit wider than I thought I wanted it and then I was able to trim it down to the size I wanted it. I decided to indent the scrappy stripes with the white card down each side popped up with some dimensionals. I think this makes the card look very polished! 

I added a sentiment on the story label punch and as with yesterday's card, added some candy dots which needed using up. 

Stamp Set: Well Said

Ink: Highland Heather

Cardstock: Whisper White, Highland Heather, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride, Soft Sea Foam, Petal Pink

Accessories: Pearls

As with the previous card, I added little strips of scrap to a piece of white card and then trimmed it down so that the edges looked more polished. I added it straight to the card base and added a sentiment on a thin scrap of white card. I finished the whole thing off with a scattering of pearls. 

Do you like this scrap busting idea? I hope you do! 

Thanks for stopping by,

Take care, 

Scrap Busting!

Hey!

So yesterday I said I had some fun things on the way using up scraps. Today I'd like to share the first one with you! It also involves some weaving - my new favourite technique. 

This one uses up scraps from the brights collection so its incredibly bright and vibrant and super fun!

Stamp Set: Peaceful Moments

Ink: Bermuda Bay

Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Flirty Flamingo, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay, Mango Melody, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Gorgeous Grape

Punch: Story Label

Accessories: Brights Candy Dots (retired)

In sorting out my scraps I found lots of thin strips of card that I thought I could use for something but they gradually accumulate and I don't use them as much as I should, its always so much quicker and easier to cut up a new piece than wade through the scrap box for something that will fit. So, I used a few of these scraps as is, and some I cut much thinner so that I had different widths ranging from about 5mm up to 3cm. 

Once I had a bunch cut up I began to weave. Getting the first couple vertical and horizontal ones in place is the most difficult. After those are in place, the tension created is substantial enough to keep the strips in place as they were woven in. When I was happy with the placement - trying to vary the colours and strip widths so that it looked pretty random - I added tombow to the back of the strips and glued it down to a piece of Whisper White. I then went around all the edges gluing all the ends of the strips down. 

I matted it on some Bermuda Bay card and added it to a white card base. I thought a simple white label punch would be best for the sentiment - to try and act as a balance to the vibrant colours. I stamped in Bermuda Bay because I thought it would tie together the matting, weaving and sentiment layers quite nicely - I think that bit of consistency really works. What do you think?  

In the spirit of using up scraps, I found some candy dots that have been retired a long while but haven't got used up yet, so I popped a few around the sentiment just to add a little more colour to the sentiment layer. 

I hope you've enjoyed this scrap buster! I'm for sure going to be making more of these and I have some other scrap busting ideas up my sleeve to show you over the coming days. Stay tuned. 

Take care,