You're Having A Giraffe!

 Good morning and a very Happy New Year! Hands up those who are delighted to see the back of 2020 -  yes me too! So it's a new month, a new year, and a new challenge over at Country View Crafts, and to kick us off, Corrie has chosen the challenge, which is to use one or more squares on our projects. I've made a birthday card as I need my first one for the year in a couple of days!

I had an idea in my head that I wanted to make a tropical kind of background, so I pulled out my square inkpads in yellow, orange, and browns and splodged away! I've had the VersaColour ones since time began, so I thought they might have dried out. Of course, it was the strongest, darkest, juiciest one in existence, and just to make sure I wasn't imagining things, I splodged it again doh! Never mind I'm sure something will cover it up.

Next, I used all the background stamps from the Pink Ink Giraffe stamp set along with my Distress Oxides to add a bit more colour. At this point I'm thinking "what a mess, and I wish I had a Plan B"

So, I trimmed it all down and added a die-cut frame.  I stamped and watercoloured my giraffe, and popped her out of the frame with foam pads. I added a few die cut leaves, and used my favourite Tim Holtz dies for the sentiment. I'd triple embossed this to make it nice and shiny, but some embossing powder had got underneath too so it really didn't want to stick down. I mean, really, really, didn't want to grrrrrr!

Anyway, once I'd cleared away the 10 different types of glue that I'd used - did I mention that it didn't want to stick?? I added an acetate jacket, just because I like acetate and it's not like I hadn't already spent 2 days on a card that didn't want to stick!!!

Told you I'd cover the brown blob up somehow, here's a well-placed giraffe!

I really like how this turned out in the end, and I hope the recipient does too. She'd better, or it's the Card Factory for her next year!

Please join in with our challenge, you don't have to make it as hard for yourself as I did, just show us your squares.

Take care, and have a very happy new year! 

Pretty In Pink

Good morning and happy Friday, I hope you had a lovely (if a little unusual) Easter.  I know I'm really looking forward to next year to do properly all of the things that we are going to miss this year.

I'm over at Country View Crafts today with my second Animal Magic project, so here it is.

This is for my daughter who turns 30 this year. Eeek where does the time go! A pig may seem like an unusual choice, but she's loved pigs since she was tiny, so as soon as I saw the Pink Ink stamp set I knew that she would love it.

 I started with my 'go-to' inky background using my favourite oxides.

Then added some stamping and stencilling.

 I wanted my pig to be looking over a garden wall, so I used texture pastes to give me a wall and some fluffy white clouds

 I've also just received some of the amazing Seth Apter Izink Ice so some of that had to go on too. It goes through a stencil beautifully and dries quite quickly too. I also stamped and embossed my pig so that I wouldn't have to fussy cut her hair - in times of social distancing no-one gets a hair cut!

 I added some Granite Paste to my wall to extend it and give it some more texture.

 And some white stamping to the Ice to help it to fit in with the background.

 Here's my pig watercoloured and fitted into place on her wall. She looks very sociable don't you think.

 And just so she doesn't forget that she's the big 3 0 ....

So there we go a pretty in pink pig for a special birthday (which isn't until September but I do like to tie my challenge pieces in with something specific. It keeps me focused otherwise my brain has far too many tabs open lol)

I hope you like it, and there's still loads of time to join in with us. Thanks so much for looking, take care, and stay safe xx

Be A Unicorn

Good morning and happy Thursday. As I'm typing this we are in the middle of the most ridiculously hot weather EVER. We've had hot with sunshine, hot with cloud, and hot with thunder and lightening! I shouldn't be complaining should I, it is Summer after all.

It's also time for a new challenge over at Country View Crafts, and this time the lovely Miriam has chosen Texture. As it's also birthday card season part 2, I made a card for my niece.

I don't see my niece as often as I would like as she lives at the other end of the country, so I never know if she is going through a 'girly girl' or a 'grunge' phase, but everyone likes unicorns right?...

I started with my Distress Inks  and Oxides  in the same colours, and made an inky background.

 Then I used some thinlits dies to chop areas out. I also stamped the Pink Ink Designs unicorn stamp directly to the card. I stamped it again on a blue background and chopped out shapes and layered them over the original.

To add more texture I choped teeny tiny circles out of different scraps of card and added them.

 Of course every unicorn needs a horn, otherwise it's just, well... a horse! I like the pink one, Neil liked the multicoloured one, so of course it had to be the blue!

 Horn in place, and stitching and sequins for more texture and we just need a sentiment.

We all need to be unicorns in a field of horses don't we. 

This was a fun challenge though it really made me think, which is all good isn't it.

I hope you join in with us, just show us your texture and you could be our lucky winner who gets a £20.00 gift certificate to spend in the store.

Have a very happy week, and thanks so much for looking. 

Winter's Here

Good Morning and happy Tuesday. I'm back with my second piece for the Country View Crafts 'Opposites' challenge, and I've chosen Fire and Ice.

As I was making this the new season of Game of Thrones hadn't started, so there will be no spoilers from me.

 I started with a piece of 12 x 12 paper with a brick wall effect to reming me of the ice wall - I don't know why really 'cos that came down at the end of last season.

 I covered it in white gesso to tone it down a bit, then got to work on my fire with a couple of stencils and some DecoArt Media Acrylics. 

 Then I added some snow with Snowtex, and some crackle with an Andy Skinner stamp. 

 Lots of lovely snow!

 For the ice I used the Tim Holtz Drips die and just about everything else I could lay my hands on. There's Frantage, snow balls, micro beads, you name it, it's probably on there.

 So now we have fire and ice, we just need...

 Dragons!

This firery one is a Sheena stamp, flying in to save the day.

The words are from a Tim Holtz strip die

 And the ice dragon is by Pink Ink. I've cut into the stencilled flames to give him somewhere to rest.

And there we are! By the time you are reading this it will all be over, and life can go back to normal in our house. I live with 2 fans who will be very sad to see the show end.

There's still time to join in with our challenge, so please show us your opposites for the chance to win a £20.00 voucher to spend in the store.
I'm joining in with the Use Stencils challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday, and also Stitches over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday

Have a happy week, and thanks very much for looking x